Mexican Border Shelters Empty as Trump Crackdown Deters Migrants Heading North

Migrant shelters along Mexico’s northern border are emptying as fewer ‌migrants head to the United States following President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass deportation campaign.

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Trump’s return to office abruptly closed off one of the main legal pathways migrants had used to enter the U.S., ​ending the CBP One app that allowed asylum seekers to schedule appointments at ports of entry. The move ​left thousands of migrants stranded in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez and prompted Mexican authorities to prepare for a ‌surge ⁠in deportees by opening emergency shelters.

Many of those facilities, however, remained largely empty as migrant arrivals fell and deportations were often carried out by air to southern Mexico or other countries.

The drop in migrant flows has been felt across Ciudad Juarez’s shelter network. Juan Fierro, who heads the city’s Good Samaritan shelter, said Trump’s policies had ​sharply reduced the number of ​new arrivals.

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Garcia said steep budget cuts and a decline in migrant arrivals had reduced the ⁠number of ​shelters in Coespo’s network by nearly half, to 18. Yet ​occupancy remains around 15%, with most residents now Mexicans displaced by violence.

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