Human smugglers are reportedly urging migrants to rush into the United States before President-elect Donald Trump comes back into power, according to the Wall Street Journal
Migrants across Latin America are being told by smugglers that the time is now to reach the U.S. southern border before Trump enters office and embarks on his hardline immigration agenda, according to a report by the WSJ. Officials on the U.S. side of the southern border told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they are bracing for the possibility of a last-minute migrant surge before inauguration day.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential for a surge at our southern border as we near the end of President Biden’s term,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who represents a district by the California-Mexico border, stated to the DCNF. “With the Trump Administration signaling that it will prioritize stricter immigration enforcement, many individuals seeking to enter the U.S. illegally are likely to try to do so before those policies are enacted.”
“Right now, we are already seeing 800 to 1,000 people entering our region daily, creating a massive strain on our resources, services, and communities,” Desmond continued. “The influx is overwhelming local infrastructure and endangering the well-being of residents.”
Close to the Darien Gap — a vast jungle region spread across the Panama and Colombia border where thousands of U.S-bound migrants cross every year — migrants were told by a smuggler that he anticipates more deportations under the Trump administration, according to a WhatsApp group message reviewed by the WSJ.
“There were four WhatsApp groups in which hundreds of migrants coordinated their departure on U.S. election day,” Luis Villagrán, a Mexican migrant advocate who helps organize caravans in Tapachula, told the WSJ.
“As soon as Trump’s victory became clear, messages spreading fear began to appear,” Villagrán said.
In a statement to the DCNF, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency is remaining vigilant to ever-changing migration patterns, and urged migrants to “not believe the lies” of smugglers.
“The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law. Individuals who enter the U.S. unlawfully between ports of entry will continue to be quickly removed,” the CBP spokesperson said.
Upon entering office, President Joe Biden undertook 296 executive actions on immigration, with 89 of those orders specifically reversing or beginning the process of reversing Trump’s immigration policies. The Biden-Harris administration went on to undo a number of major Trump-era initiatives concerning border security, such as ending border wall construction and shutting down the Remain in Mexico program.
The aftermath was a historic flow of illegal immigration across the southern border. The number of illegal border crossings in fiscal year 2024 were the second worst in U.S. history — only surpassed by fiscal year 2023, according to data tracked by CBP.
There were about 8.5 million migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border during the four fiscal years of the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump, who is set to return to office in January, was very clear about his immigration enforcement platform while on the campaign trail.
The president-elect has pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and embark on the “largest deportation program in American history.” He has also pledged to put an end to birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil by illegal migrant parents.
The incoming administration appears poised to follow through this hardline agenda given the picks so far to lead top immigration enforcement roles. The White House transition team has tapped former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan to serve as border czar, Stephen Miller to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Human smugglers and migrants south of the border appear to be paying attention to the American political scene. At least some migrants are now reportedly ditching the idea of booking an asylum appointment with U.S. officials and joining northbound caravans to the border.
“More than 20 friends decided not to wait for an appointment and joined the caravan,” Alfonso Meléndez, a 24-year-old Venezuelan national who arrived in southern Mexico in late September, stated to the WSJ.
“I’m very worried that they will throw us out when Trump takes office,” he continued.
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