Migrants Fear Donald Trump’s Mass Deportation, Rush to Border Anyway
Thousands of migrants from Central America are hoping to reach the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office and launches his border security and mass deportation crackdown in January.
A caravan of 1,500 people left Chiapas, southern Mexico on November 21, many relying on the CBP One app, which has allowed migrants to apply for asylum remotely while crossing through Mexico.
They fear Trump will shut down the app, as he has promised, and launch the largest mass deportation in American history to tackle illegal migration soon after his inauguration on January 20. The President-elect has also vowed to tackle cartels over their role in smuggling migrants and drugs into the U.S.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump transition team for comment via email
The migrants travel in large groups, relying on strength in numbers to protect them from both cartels and police during their 1,000-mile journey to the Texan border with Mexico.
Bryan Velazquez, a Guatemalan citizen, told BBC News that people traveling are frightened of Trump’s new immigration policies.
“We are very afraid because supposedly they are going to start closing CBP One. We ask the U.S. government to help us,” he said.
Migrants who wish to enter the U.S. legally are required to access the CBP One app to request an appointment at a port of entry to the country. It is the only way, bar a few rare exceptions, to request asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Anin Rodriguez, a Honduran citizen, told BBC News: “We are afraid that we might not be able to pass because of Trump.”
Jaime Abelar, a citizen of El Salvador, told the U.K. broadcaster: “I think we agree on setting before he (Trump) takes office again and see what happens. There might be deportations, but God willing, it won’t happen to us.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FUL ARTICLE By Billal Rahman ON NEWSWEEK
TYT Newsroom
