Migrants in Mexico anxious to enter US legally before Trump ends humanitarian programmes
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Migrants queueing outside the office of Mexico's National Migration Institute to process travel permits to reach the US border.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
TAPACHULA – Hundreds of migrants waited in long lines outside an immigration office in southern Mexico on Dec 30, hoping to secure safe passage north and enter the US legally before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January 2025.
Trump plans to end President Joe Biden’s humanitarian programmes,
The Mexican government runs a programme of bussing migrants with confirmed CBP One appointments from southern Mexico to the northern border, seeking to protect them from gangs and organised crime groups that extort and kidnap migrants travelling across the country.
On Dec 30, migrants in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula waited to secure seats on these buses and expressed relief that they managed to land one of the coveted CBP One appointments for early January, before Trump takes office on Jan 20.
“We will arrive before President Donald Trump takes office, regardless of the actions he may take,” said Venezuelan migrant Johandry Paz. “We already have confirmed appointments and we want to reach our destination: the United States of America.”
The Mexican government’s buses generally run two or three times a week, transporting migrants over a thousand kilometres north to Mexican border cities.
“Yesterday, my appointment was confirmed for Jan 4, 2025, so I’m in a rush (to reach the border),” said Salvadoran migrant Jose Escobar.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have been able to enter the US legally and access work permits as a result of CBP One and other Biden humanitarian programmes. REUTERS
