NOGALES, AZ — With all their belongings in red bags, people were deported through the DiConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona on Tuesday morning.
After promising to remove "millions" of people from the United States in his inaugural speech, deportations continued at the port.
They have been happening here regularly since June when then-President Biden enacted an executive order limiting asylum for those who crossed the border illegally.
A look at deportations happening along the Arizona border this morning on President Trump's first full day back in office.
— Adam Klepp (@AdamKleppAZ) January 21, 2025
Reporting from Nogales today @abc15 pic.twitter.com/cSGMwmfBVD
People living and working in Nogales say in the lead-up from Election Day until now, the overall mood has changed.
"People are scared," Anthony Chavez said. "Scared they're going to have to go back to Mexico."
Alongside deportations, legal cross-border traffic at the crossing continues. Children are going to school and people are going to work like normal, even though President Trump also declared a national emergency at the border.
Included in the traffic is Dora Rodriguez, a humanitarian volunteer based in Tucson.
"We brought jackets to make it warm for them," Rodriguez said.
She has been volunteering across the border for decades and felt the need to be in Mexico today to help people whose shoes she was once in.
"I lived through this," said Rodriguez. "I was deported twice to my country when I was just 19 years old when I was trying to flee a civil war in my country."
She says she understands the pressure around immigration in the country right now, but wants everyone to remember new policies have a human impact.
"My hope is we continue to treat people with humanity. It does not matter your status, you're still a person. And I hope people in power understand that," Rodriguez said.
In Nogales, Mexico, the government has converted a local gym into a shelter, ready to receive 1,000 people.
