Officially launching his candidacy in El Paso, Texas, his hometown that lies just miles from the border with Mexico that President Trump’s is threatening to close.

Paola Avila with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce said, “Our economies, communities, workforce, our businesses are so integrated. It’s like dissecting a person. Dividing a person in half is not viable,“

A border shutdown would cause severe economic consequences; an average of 1.7 Billion dollars worth of goods cross back and forth between Mexico and the US every day.

The President’s threat coming just as a new caravan of asylum seekers is crossing Mexico towards the US border, the State Department is cutting off all aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. For years that assistance was meant to stabilize those countries politically and economically so migrants would not leave.

President Donald Trump said, “So Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador have done nothing. Mexico has done nothing.“

So far Mexican reaction to the border shutdown threat is muted.

Mexico’s President said, “I’m not going to start an argument over this.“​​​​​​​

The US Border Patrol issuing a statement Saturday saying they are overwhelmed by the influx of migrants and that with most shelters filled beyond capacity it “has begun processing non-criminal family units for immediate release.“​​​​​​​

No word yet on how many migrants will be released.