As Trump heads to border, McAllen residents ask: What crisis?

[DonViejo]

Rick Jervis, USA TODAY Published 10:15 a.m. ET Jan. 10, 2019

McALLEN – People and businesses across this border city braced for the arrival of President Donald Trump on Thursday, along with the national debate over a border wall that surrounds his visit.

At the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Humanitarian Respite Center, which helps immigrants released from federal custody, families arranged bus tickets for relatives in the U.S. as children rummaged through bins of donated toys and volunteers handed out oranges. Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs the center, said around 100 migrants were there, down from a daily average of 300 to 500 in December – a high average for December but still lower than previous years.

Pimentel said she doesn’t see the criminal migrants Trump warned about in his recent Oval Office speech and is confident Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officials keep those criminals from entering the country. The migrants she sees on a daily basis are mostly families fleeing violence in their own countries and seeking a better life in the U.S., she said.

Pimentel said she hopes Trump gets a fuller picture of the border situation from his visit.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/10/trump-visits-border-mcallen-residents-ask-what-crisis/2535007002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomwashington-topstories

[dalton99a]

1. Snowbirds should stay away from that dangerous war zone