‘I Am Traumatized’: Migrants In Mexico Choosing To Turn Around After Trump’s Election Victory

President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t been sworn in yet, but the promise of tougher border policies is already convincing many would-be illegal immigrants to turn around and head back to their home countries.

Between 50 to 100 Venezuelan nationals in Mexico are now requesting what is known as “voluntary return” every week, according to a Venezuelan official that spoke with Reuters, who added that many of these migrants have faced perilous situations in Mexico, such as kidnappings and sexual exploitation. A dozen migrants in Mexico told the news outlet that they would prefer to go back to their home countries, despite whatever issues that drove them to leave in the first place.

A major point of contention is Trump’s promise to scrap the CBP One app, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals to schedule asylum appointments after the Biden administration greatly expanded the program. More migrants feel Trump’s upcoming border crackdown make it no longer worth waiting in Mexico, where many of them have been subjected extortion, sexual assault, kidnappings and a slate of other violence from cartels and others taking advantage of the migration crisis.

“I am traumatized. If I don’t get the appointment, I will go back,” Nidia Montenegro, a 52-year-old Venezuelan national, said to Reuters.

Under the Biden administration, Mexico had become the ultimate transit point for millions of U.S.-bound migrants — as many of them believed they could enter the country by simply claiming asylum or sneaking past Border Patrol. There were roughly 8.5 million southern border encounters during President Joe Biden’s time in office, with fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 being the worst years for migrant crossings in history.

Biden took 296 executive actions on Immigration