Thousands of migrants from Central America are making a desperate push toward the U.S.-Mexico border, driven by fear of President-elect Donald Trump's promised immigration crackdown. A caravan of roughly 1,500 people departed Chiapas, southern Mexico, on November 21, aiming to reach the border before Trump's inauguration on January 20, amid concerns that the incoming administration will dismantle the CBP One app and impose the largest mass deportation in American history.
"We are very afraid because supposedly they are going to start closing CBP One. We ask the U.S. government to help us," Bryan Velazquez, a Guatemalan migrant, told BBC News.
The CBP One app, introduced during the Biden administration, allows migrants to schedule asylum appointments remotely at U.S. ports of entry. Many fear that Trump will shut down the app, effectively cutting off one of the few legal avenues for asylum seekers. Critics of the app, however, argue that it has exposed migrants to heightened risks. A report from Amnesty International found that one in ten asylum seekers with CBP One appointments had been kidnapped or extorted, often by cartels exploiting their desperation to meet appointment deadlines.
Traveling in large groups for safety, migrants face a grueling 1,000-mile journey fraught with the dangers of cartels, human traffickers, and police. Rafael Velasquez, Mexico Country Director for the International Rescue Committee, emphasized the need for such caravans. "It is essential to highlight that the main reason migrants choose to travel in large groups is for their safety," he said.
Fears of deportation and tightened immigration controls are widespread among the caravan's participants. "We are afraid that we might not be able to pass because of Trump," said Anin Rodriguez, a migrant from Honduras. Another traveler, Jaime Abelar from El Salvador, expressed similar concerns: "I think we agree on settling before he takes office again and see what happens. There might be deportations, but God willing, it won't happen to us."
The urgency among migrants has been fueled by Trump's promises to declare a national emergency and deploy the U.S. military to enforce immigration policies. During his first term, Trump deported approximately 1.5 million people, according to the Migration Policy Institute. His proposed second-term measures are expected to surpass that figure and include the construction of large detention facilities near the border.
Meanwhile, undocumented immigrants already residing in the U.S. are taking steps to secure their futures. Immigration lawyers report a surge in green card holders seeking to naturalize, while others are filing asylum claims or fast-tracking marriages to U.S. citizens. "Everyone is scared," said Inna Simakovsky, an immigration attorney in Ohio. "People that should be scared are coming in, and people that are fine with a green card are rushing in."
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, often referred to as Dreamers, are also scrambling to solidify their status. Yaneth Campuzano, a 30-year-old DACA recipient and software engineer, described the sense of urgency. "The election result put me in a state of panic that propelled me to immediately find a permanent solution," she said. Campuzano and her fiancé, a U.S. citizen, have moved up their wedding plans to ensure her legal residency.
The fear extends beyond migrants and undocumented residents. Universities are warning international students to avoid travel around the inauguration date, referencing the chaos caused by Trump's 2017 Muslim travel ban. The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, issued a travel advisory urging international students to return to the U.S. before January 20, stating, "The safest way to avoid difficulty re-entering the country is to stay in the U.S. until after Inauguration Day."
Humanitarian organizations are working to prepare communities for potential mass deportations. In California, Silvia Campos, an undocumented farmworker, attended a legal workshop to make contingency plans for her family. "We don't want to create more fear, but we want them to be ready for anything," she said after completing legal documents authorizing her sister, a U.S. citizen, to care for her children in the event of her deportation.
Trump's proposed policies have sparked intense debate. Critics warn that mass deportations would destabilize families and communities, overwhelm immigration infrastructure, and harm the economy. Supporters, however, argue that stricter enforcement is necessary to restore order at the border and address voter frustrations over the perceived chaos of current immigration policies.
With the clock ticking toward January 20, migrants face an increasingly narrow window to secure a chance at a better future.
