El Paso, Texas — About a mile from the Paso Del Norte International Bridge, which connects downtown El Paso to Mexico, Emilio Mendiola sorts neon snapbacks into bins labeled reading “Special $2.99 plus Tax,” — and what was 90% of his business.

“I’m not kidding. It’s that bad.” The manager of “Mr. Hats” has let go of all but two of his full-time employees since the international bridges closed to noncitizens whose travel into the U.S. is deemed nonessential. The closure has shut down tourism, shopping and dining business from the neighboring Mexican city of Juárez that once fueled rows of El Paso’s vendors — and it has cost Mendiola 90% of his business. Nearly 33.6 million people crossed international bridges into El Paso from Mexico in 2019, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.