How immigration politics clash with reality in the swing state of Arizona

NOGALES — For nearly 80 years, La Cinderella has sat just 500 feet from the international border between the United States and Mexico.

The store is hard to miss. Its pink walls stand high on the street corner, glittery shoes and sequined bows sparkle in the storefront windows and the colorful mural of Evelia Kory, the woman who started it all, decorates the view coming down from the border's port of entry.

For decades, two storefronts owned by the same family have enjoyed a customer base that is overwhelmingly made up of residents of Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora just across the way.

"We value the fact that we are two nations that are mixed, and we thrive because of that," said Evan Kory, grandson of Evelia and now one of the owners of both La Cinderella and Kory's bridal store down the street. "We've been open for 77 years. So we've seen generations of customers where at our bridal store, the grandmother, the mother and the daughter have gotten their dresses."

By being right along the border, and just a few feet away from the Nogales port of entry, Kory and his family have seen the implications of border politics play out at their door.

They recall the days before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when Mexican nationals could cross over with ease to get groceries or shop at their store. They recall when borders completely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating their store's revenue. Then, in December 2023, when the Biden administration closed the Lukeville port in Arizona due to staffing, Kory and his family feared that Nogales could be next. And now, inconsistent wait times at the border mean that loyal customers may wait 3 hours just to visit La Cinderella.

"I think for our federal government,