Anxious but undeterred, migrants brace for Trump presidency

• Under Trump presidency, migrants in Mexico expect crackdown
• Many fear Trump will scrap mobile app for legal entry
• Shelters policed by Mexican authorities

MEXICO CITY - After waiting for seven months, Nicaraguan migrant Aldo is only two numbers away from being assigned an asylum appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app.

Aldo left his country in February, desperate to find a job in the United States to provide for his eight children and has been waiting for an appointment in Mexico while he builds houses and works the corn fields.

But days away from President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, his hope of achieving the American Dream is dwindling.

"If I don't get the appointment before January 20 when he comes into power, I know I won't get in at all," said Aldo, who walked hundreds of miles for two months from Nicaragua to Guatemala and paid $120 to a smuggler to cross into Mexico.

In interviews with Context, migrants in shelters across the central region of Mexico said they feel anxious and uncertain ahead of Trump's promise to crack down on immigration, fearful it will now become harder to gain asylum.

Trump has pledged tougher border controls and immigration enforcement and to launch a mass deportation operation on his first day as president.

Like Aldo, most migrants said they were concerned about Trump's promise to end the CBP One app, described by the president-elect as a "phone app for smuggling illegals." 

The CBP One mobile phone app allows migrants seeking asylum to book an appointment and petition for asylum before they reach the United States. While securing an appointment does not guarantee entry, many see it as the best option to enter the United States legally.

Hesitant to hire a smuggler to help him climb over the U.S.-Mexico border wall, Aldo is preparing to stay in Mexico and seek work in the northern city of Monterrey.

"My ambition isn't to be wealthy – I just long for the stability I couldn't find back home," the 40-year-old said.

Aldo and other migrants interviewed for this story declined to give their surnames.

'On the hunt'

Aldo now works near the train station in Bojay, in the central state of Hidalgo, a common stop for migrants looking to hitch a ride on the cargo wagons of the dangerous freight train dubbed "The Beast" that takes them close to the U.S.-Mexico border.

The train station was once surrounded by informal migrant camps with hundreds of people but is now empty under the watch of Mexico's National Guard, who stop migrants in the area.

The nearby shelter El Samaritano has seen the number of migrants it helps decrease from about 1,000 a month in 2023 to 100 more recently.

"Authorities are on the hunt, and we're seeing a lot of detentions. Migration (authorities) surround the house, and no one can come near," said María Luisa Silverio, a nun and coordinator of the shelter, which provides food, clothes, personal hygiene items and access to bathrooms.

During visits to multiple migrant shelters in the central region of Mexico, Context witnessed how shelters are now surrounded both by law enforcement and members of organized crime.

Drug cartels control the multi-billion human trafficking business across Mexico, and smugglers expect their profits will rise with Trump in power when they plan to charge migrants more for their journey as enforcement ramps up.

Those working at migrant shelters worry that operations to stop migration to the United States are exposing people to abuses from authorities and drug cartels.

"People are desperate, anxious. When they arrive here, they come beaten up, sexually abused," said Silverio, who has been working at the shelter since 2012 despite threats to her safety.

"Migration will not stop, and I fear people will continue to be victims of sexual trafficking, organ removal and child pornography."     

Undeterred

In Mexico City, the shelter Casa Tochán celebrated Christmas with migrants and neighbors who joined in to hit the piñata and eat traditional Mexican bread.

Ahmed, a 45-year-old financial manager from Jordan, has spent about $20,000 trying to reach the United States since June.

Since taking a flight from London to Bogota, Colombia, Ahmed has been transported through South and Central America with hundreds of people hiding in trucks, buses and cars.

Ahmed said he has been stopped three times by the Mexican authorities and sent back to the border with Guatemala as part of the government's "merry-go-round" strategy meant to tire out migrants.

At military checkpoints set up around the country, the National Guard and National Migration Institute stop migrants and send them to southern Mexico, where people again try to reach the northern border - only to get stopped and sent back multiple times.

Pressure from the U.S. government to curb migration has forced Mexico to ramp up enforcement measures and control the movement of people arriving in southern Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum said after Trump’s election that she will propose ways to reduce migration while maintaining a “humanitarian” approach.

But Ahmed, who travelled with a friend, said he is determined to keep paying a smuggler until he is successful – regardless of how restrictive Trump's crackdown on immigration becomes.

"I'm not afraid of Donald Trump. The United States is a big economy, and they need the labor," said Ahmed, who hopes to find a job in finance. 

Steven, a 37-year-old man from Honduras who also attended the Casa Tochán celebration, is feeling less optimistic about his chances of reaching the United States after spending a year in Mexico.

"Things are already hard for us without a president putting more obstacles in our way. We just want a better life," he said. He is planning to travel to the border city of Tijuana and find a job painting cars.

Gabriela Hernández, director of the shelter, worries that the services it provides will be overwhelmed by the amount of people stuck in Mexico due to Trump's policies.

With only 50 beds, Casa Tochán is currently full of migrants from Latin America, China and the Middle East waiting for an appointment with the CBP One app.

"Everybody is restless, because (Trump's) threats are serious, and the Mexican government is at the service of the US government," said Hernández.

"But here we will remain standing, fighting to defend the rights of migrants," she said.

(Reporting by Diana Baptista; Editing by Anastasia Moloney and Ayla Jean Yackley.)