On the border, little enthusiasm for a wall: ‘We have other problems that need fixing’

In cities like El Paso and San Diego, the growing number of migrant families pushing for entry to the United States has generated crowds and controversy, with migrants packed into detention centers and bus stations.

The Borderland Cafe in Columbus, N.M., Jan. 8, 2019. President Donald Trump has made the case that the nation is in the midst of an immigration crisis, but a survey of those living along the border found few who shared the president’s sense of alarm. (Caitlin O’Hara/The New York Times)

Written by Simon Romero, Manny Fernandez, Jose A. Del Real and Azam Ahmed

Just minutes from the border in rural New Mexico, the Borderland Cafe in the village of Columbus serves burritos and pizza to local residents, Border Patrol agents and visitors from other parts of the country seeking a glimpse of life on the frontier. The motto painted on the wall proclaims “Life is good in the Borderland.

“This is the sleepiest little town you could think of,” said Adriana Zizumbo, 31, who was raised in Columbus and owns the cafe with her husband. “The only crisis we’re facing here is a shortage of labor. Fewer people cross the border to work than before, and Americans don’t want to get their hands dirty doing hard work.

President Donald Trump has shut down part of the government over border security and his plan to build a wall along the border with Mexico, but based on her conversations with customers, Zizumbo said, people in Columbus oppose the idea of a wall by about a “90-to-10 margin.

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Texas struggles to meet needs as migrant numbers surge

Volunteers work around the clock to assist exhausted Central American migrants in El Paso, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security has said 60 percent of the population crossing the US-Mexico border are children or family units, a relatively re...