Locals speak out as border closure threat looms

As experts anticipate dire social and economic consequences following President Trump’s threat of closing the southern border, locals here in the valley are speaking out about the impacts they could feel personally.

David Valenzuela, for instance, lives in Cathedral City and has been a U.S. permanent resident for the past 14 years.

He broke his hand working at his construction job, but without insurance, he can’t afford medical care in this country.

“The thing is I don’t have insurance over here so it’s too expensive for me to pay for doctors and all the stuff here,” Valenzuela said. “So every week I have to go to Mexico.”

He’s worried his health could now be in jeopardy if President Trump closes the border.

“It’s really, really sad because like i say, somehow i have to figure out how to support my family, i have to work, i have to pay bills, i have to pay a lot of stuff,” Valenzuela said. “It’s going to affect a lot of people.”

The shut down could also affect thousands of farm workers who cross into the U.S. to earn their livelihood and provide for their families back home.

“They’re hardworking, they just want to work, they want to survive, they want to give an opportunity to their families,” said Gloria Gomez, president and founder of the Galilee Center in Mecca. She’s preparing to shelter about 100 migrant farm workers in the next two weeks — offering food, hot showers, and a place to sleep.

“What they do is they get their money go to Mexico, stay there for a few months until the work comes in and they come back here,” Gomez said.

And despite a major donor pulling funding from the Galilee Center after they housed asylum seekers earlier this year, they say they’ll continnue to give help to anyone who needs it.

“We believe in the farm workers, we believe in what they’re doing, and here we are,” Gomez said.

The Galilee has raised $100,000 — enough to keep them going for the next few months.

If you’d like to donate to the Galilee Center, click here.

You can reach Jake on Twitter, Facebook or email him at jake.ingrassia@kesq.com.