Migrants in Mexico choose to turn around after Trump’s electoral victory – IJR

Disillusioned with President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming immigration agenda and terrified by the level of crime in Mexico, many immigrants are choosing to return to their countries of origin.

Between 50 and 100 Venezuelan citizens in Mexico now request what is known as “voluntary return” each week. according A Venezuelan official who spoke to Reuters, who added that many of these migrants have faced dangerous situations in Mexico, such as kidnappings and sexual exploitation. A dozen immigrants in Mexico told the news outlet that they would prefer to return to their home countries, despite the problems that led them to leave in the first place.

A major point of contention is Trump’s promise to eliminate the CBP One app, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of foreigners to schedule asylum appointments with U.S. officials. More and more immigrants feel that the obstacles Trump will bring make it no longer worth waiting in Mexico, where many of them have been subject to extortion, sexual assault, kidnappings and a host of other forms of violence by cartels and others. dangerous individuals who take advantage of the immigration crisis.

“I am traumatized. If I don’t get the appointment, I will return,” Nidia Montenegro, a 52-year-old Venezuelan, told Reuters.

Trump, who already established himself as a hardliner on immigration during his first term, has promised to embark on a series of tough measures for his second term, such as carrying out the largest deportation initiative in US history, resuming construction of the wall, restarting the Remain in Mexico program and a series of other proposals.

“As president, I will immediately end the invasion of immigrants into the United States. We will stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, cancel the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals (CBP One App), revoke immunity from deportation, suspend refugee resettlement, and return illegal immigrants from Kamala to their countries of origin (also known as remigration). ” Triumph published in X in September.

First launched in October 2020 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) primarily for cargo inspections, the CBP One app was incredibly expanded in January 2023 to include migrants waiting in Mexico in hopes of scheduling asylum appointments. . More than 800,000 foreign nationals have scheduled appointments to report to ports of entry since the app’s expansion in January 2023. according CBP.

While there have been reports of human smugglers urging migrants to run to the southern border Before Trump takes office and immigration officials have prepared for such a possibility, border crossing numbers and on-the-ground interviews have largely suggested that most immigrants feel defeated after Trump’s election victory. Trump. Todd Bensman, a national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, reported Tuesday that “almost everyone“, interviewed at a migrant camp in Mexico City and said they will give up and go home after Trump takes office and cancels the CBP One app program.

However, there are some who still hope to get an appointment before the Republican re-enters the White House.

“I hope to arrive before Mr. Trump takes office,” Johana, a young Venezuelan woman hoping to cross from Guatemala to Mexico, told Reuters. “If it’s not by appointment, there’s always a way.”