How do you prepare for a visit by the President of the United States?
That’s what we wanted to know. What is the city of Calexico in Imperial County doing to prepare for President Trump’s visit to the border town tomorrow?
We checked with some staff at the local newspaper that serves Calexico to find out who best to talk to about the city and its plans for the presidential visit.
But after having conversations with someone at Calexico City Hall and our reporters having tried to reach the mayor there, and sending emails to city leaders, the impression was that that they were either all too busy or not interested enough to want to talk about it.
Probably not surprising. As a town of about 40,000, located at the U.S. Mexico border, they are a ground zero of the debate going on about national security, legal and illegal immigration and asylum policies.
With a border agents sometimes threatened by rocks or bricks being thrown at them from south of the border, as happened just yesterday, to the migrants released north of the border into the community to wait for their hearings.
The people who live in Calexico experience it every day, and in fact, just like many of the people who live here in San Diego near the border do, along with all the thousands of people who pass through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, on their way to work, to shop or to visit friends or family.
And with the President coming to Calexico tomorrow even more attention will be on what’s happening at the border.Everyone will be watching what he says and what he does.
(Photo credit Getty Images)