Hundreds of migrants in shelters on the Mexican side of the southern border are anxiously waiting to see if they can enter the United States before President-elect Trump takes office, fearing they won't cross the line in time. He said he was concerned about this.
More than 850 migrants are living at the Senda de Vida shelter in Reynosa, a city in northern Mexico that borders McAllen, Texas, the Telegraph reported. Many of them applied using the CBP One app, created in 2020 to schedule appointments upon entering the United States.
Migrants have been waiting for months to find out whether they can legally book asylum applications through the app. If they are not appointed in time, they say they will be forced to attempt illegal border crossings, risking deportation or being preyed upon by cartels.
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Migrants at the Senda de Vida shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, on August 30, 2022. (Michael Nigro/Getty Images)
The atmosphere at the camp, made up of tents and small wooden buildings, quickly turned from hope to fear following President-elect Trump's landslide loss to Vice President Kamala Harris last week.
Raquel Segura, 39, from Nuevo Leon, Mexico, said he and his two daughters are among those hoping to cross the border.
“If Harris had won, people would have been jumping up and down for joy. And as you can see now, they look sad and depressed,” Silva told the Telegraph.
One of President Trump's most important campaign promises is to close the border and launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. He nominated Thomas Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as border patrol officer.
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FOX News contributor and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan will deliver the keynote address at the Columbiana County Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday, March 15, 2024 in Salem, Ohio. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Homan is a former New York state trooper and former Border Patrol agent known as an immigration hawk. At the Republic's National Convention, he warned millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States to “start packing now” and urged Democratic governors to “take a deep dive” if they intend to thwart the incoming administration's mass deportation plans. He warned them to back off. .
Homan said during an appearance on Fox & Friends that he supports President Trump's mass deportation plan, saying it would prioritize “public safety threats and national security threats.”
Illegal border crossings soar Biden administrationAccording to , it is expected to reach nearly 3 million people in fiscal year 2024. Department of Homeland Security website. Since 2021, illegal encounters have exceeded 10.8 million.
Another migrant, Berta Lisa Matute, said she was forced to leave Honduras with her husband and 5-year-old daughter nine months ago after her brother was murdered and her life was threatened. She recently gave birth to another child while camping and took her with him across Central America.
“Everything we've been through has been so difficult that I hope God shines on Mr. Trump and that he doesn't take down the app or that maybe there's another way we can go through. I hope so,” she says.
A group of 116 illegal immigrants, including 11 unaccompanied children, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Texas DPS)
“I don't want to go back to Honduras because it's not safe, but if there's no legal way to enter the country, I might give it a try.” [to cross illegally]. ”
Migrant Francisco Gomez, 40, told the Telegraph that he and his family left Honduras 10 months ago after one of their family members was murdered. They joined a caravan in Tapachula, on the Guatemalan border, and arrived in Reynosa two weeks later.
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The father-of-one told the outlet that he is not worried about Trump's election victory because he believes “he will be a good president, just like he was the first time.” spoke.
Pastor Hector Silva, who runs the shelter, says President Trump shows compassion for immigrants who yearn for a better life in America, where they work hard and want to raise families in a safe environment. I hope so.
“According to the United States, there are people who are acting according to the law. They are not going to do anything illegal,” Silva tells migrants as he leads prayers in the scorching heat.
“We don't want to cross the river and do something, we want to wait for our call and then walk across the bridge.”
FOX News' Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
