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Posted on 10/17/2026 10:43:58 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
The flow of illegal migration along the southern, U.S.-Mexico border is roughly 95% less than it was during the Biden administration.
President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has been hugely successful at dialing back on illegal border crossings. But for some of America’s border communities whose economies relied on illegal immigrants and Border Patrol operations, there’s a big adjustment underway.
Grocery store owner Felix Chavez has spent the better part of five decades building this business in the small border town of Donna, Texas. He’s expanded to eight grocery stores and one convenience store.
Each year, he says, sales have climbed. That is, until now.
“The last year has really impacted our sales. We have seen drops anywhere between 10 to 12%,” Chavez says. "Also, the labor force, where we used to employ around 550 employees, right now we have dropped down to about 450.”
The economic ripples extend far into border communities. Richard Cortez is an elected official in Hidalgo County, Texas.
“It's estimated that in my county we have at least, about, I'm gonna say 10, 15, maybe as high as 20% of our people here that are not legal citizens. So I knew it would have a huge impact,” Chavez says.
“Many of our construction workers are here as noncitizens that are working. And today, you know, we're starting to see a big impact of that. Our economy here was largely agricultural based, agri-based. So you have to harvest your products. Many of the farmers just didn't wanna put any crops in the ground because they were concerned about harvesting those crops.”
A massive tent center in nearby Donna, Texas, was constructed during the Biden years and peak illegal immigration. The center covered 185,000 square feet on 40 acres of city-owned property.
In its heyday, nearly 700 Border Patrol agents worked there. They processed about 611,000 illegal immigrants from 90 countries. The lease and utilities alone provided the city of Donna with more than a million dollars a year: around 8% of its entire budget.
Today, the lot is empty.
Jared Ashby is the top Border Patrol official in charge of the Rio Grande Valley sector in South Texas.
“At one time, the US government, and specifically the U.S. Border Patrol, contracted out numerous facilities across the country to help detain and then process illegal aliens," Ashby said. "Now that the flow has [been] reduced by 95%. ... We would hold thousands or up to 10,000 plus in different holdings across the US. Now we're at hundreds.
"So [with] a 95% reduction, there is no longer a need for those detention facilities or those temporary facilities like the Donna facility. So without the need for those facilities, some of those facilities were in the tens of millions of dollars per month for the taxpayers, and that is at a savings for U.S. taxpayers now.”
That’s an important point. Overall, analysts say the tightened southern border has delivered a huge windfall for American taxpayers.
Some estimates put the total number of forced and self-deportations under the current Trump administration at more than three million. Nobody can say for sure, but savings are estimated at about $30 billion a year – counting the costs of prison, education, health care, enforcement, and more.
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Women and minorities hardest hit.
Well, I’m sure that some of that annual $30 billion in savings could be used to help those border towns build businesses that don’t require illegals entry into the US. Or, they could just move their businesses south of the border.
“The last year has really impacted our sales. We have seen drops anywhere between 10 to 12%,” Chavez says. “Also, the labor force, where we used to employ around 550 employees, right now we have dropped down to about 450.”
Maybe border towns should fold up shop and move to California.
Canada’s Carney is bringing an Army from India up to 60 million and guess where they’ll go after they conquer Canada
I crack up at the lack of moral values, both of the article and the border town businesses. It’s like complaining about the fall of Nazi Germany, you know we aren’t selling as much coal to the trains running to Auschwitz anymore, so we had to lay off some of our workforce. No soup for you.
Cause and effect. Interesting how that works.
What I don’t see mentioned is the drop in rent & housing costs for AMERICANS.
It does mention crime but only in a $$ sense. Not the benefit in HUMAN costs. Fewer assaults, robberies, rapes, fewer lives ruined. And (I guarantee) fewer drunk driving wrecks. What’s a few extra rapes if my sales increase each year?
Taxpayers footing the bill for educating their children, medical expenses, EBT, welfare, and a myriad of other expenses adds up fast. Try going to other countries without proper documentation and get something for nothing and see how that works out. Democrats can’t change the voters minds so they need to change the voters.
EXACTLY!!!!!
We’ve had to adjust to boom and bust times in my 70 plus years. Just life. Sorry for him in some ways but that area had become birth tourism, illegal everything and crime increased.
MANY winter Texans will begin pouring back in soon so he will see sales increase most likely if the illegals didn’t chase everyone away. It’s been the economy down there for decades.
You can guess that the opportunist entrepreneurs that set up around immigrant camps were sticking it to them for the services they offered. Money to be made.
Crimea River.
Every silver lining has a dark cloud.
It is my understanding that a business that caters to criminal operations usually go out of business for a multitude of reasons.
Et tu, Sharyl Atkisson???
Which means they are working "under the table" which means they are not paying taxes which means someone else is paying their share which means someone else us going home with less take-home pay which means someone else is struggling to put food on the table and pay the rent which means.....
I was going to compare it to loss of neighborhood revenue when a drug dealer operation goes to prison. Doing illegal stuff does increase commerce - to the benefit MAINLY of the illegal-doers. But others as well.
But I like your coal/train/Nazi example better.
I don’t imagine that Catholic charities are doing so good anymore either. Shame on them.
Who runs border town? Master Blaster.
My Sam’s Club store here in Colorado is doing a booming EBT card business with the Mamacitas and their Ninos. You need to be bi-lingual just to buy groceries now. Oh, and they’re arrogant too.
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