President Donald Trump's Immigration Policy Change, Thousands of Migrants Left in Despair at the Mexico Border

President Donald Trump's Immigration Policy Change, Thousands of Migrants Left in Despair at the Mexico Border

Tijuana, Mexico — Migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, and various parts of the world had arrived with small rolling suitcases, packed with clothing and stuffed animals for their children. They were looking at their phones, seeing that after months of waiting, they finally had appointments to legally enter the United States.

However, after President Donald Trump's inauguration, their hope and excitement quickly turned into despair and disbelief at several border crossings in Mexico. On Monday, January 20, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the CBP One app, which had facilitated the entry of nearly 1 million people since January 2023, would no longer be used.

Appointments scheduled for February and beyond were canceled. In Tijuana, where 400 people were being processed daily through the CBP One app at a border crossing with San Diego, Maria Mercado took a moment to summon the courage to check her phone. Tears streamed down her face when she saw that her family's appointment had been canceled. She said, "We don't know what we are going to do."

Maria, who left Colombia decades ago due to cartel violence, had fled to Ecuador and then Mexico in search of safety and hoped to enter the United States. She said, “I am not asking for anything from the world — just praying to God to please let us in.”

CBP One was a lottery-style system that allowed 1,450 people daily to enter the U.S. at various border points. It was a special parole process that allowed migrants to enter the country legally. However, following Trump's inauguration, the app was canceled, and the "Remain in Mexico" policy, a holdover from Trump's first term, has been reinstated.

Now, migrants are stuck in various shelters across Mexico, many of whom were checking the CBP One app daily. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that approximately 280,000 people try daily for the 1,450 available slots.

The abrupt end of the CBP One program following Trump's inauguration has dealt a major blow to migrants who had been hopeful of finding refuge in the U.S.