Migrants on Mexico’s northern border fight against time for an asylum appointment in the United States with ‘CBP One’a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) digital application that the next president, Donald Trump, has promised to eliminate, leaving thousands in limbo.
The climate of anguish has grown in recent months in Ciudad Juárez, bordering the American El Paso, Texas, where migrants tell EFE that waiting times to schedule appointments have been extended, there are technical failures and a high demand before the Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“Firstly, I hope that I receive approval for the appointment before (Trump) takes office and, if it does not arrive, wait to see what happens.”“commented Ricardo Bravo, a Venezuelan who has been living on the border of Ciudad Juárez for days.
Migrants remember that, during his first Presidency (2017-2021), Trump implemented restrictive measures such as the ‘Stay in Mexico’ program, which forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory while their cases were resolved.
“I think that, if a way is not found before Trump takes office, all of this will overflow the borders.Again, all Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Guatemalans, all of these people are going to look for a way to enter the country illegally,” Ricardo predicted.
Migration does not stop
Despite a 76% drop in daily migrant detention at the US border since December, according to the Mexican government, Irregular migration through Mexico rose 193% year-on-year to a record of more than 712,000 peopleaccording to the Migration Policy Unit.
Among those seeking to reach the United States there are also Mexicans, like Fátima García Morales, originally from the southern state of Campeche who has been in Ciudad Juárez for seven months waiting for an asylum appointment.
“We have been fleeing because of the risk that they are going to take our daughters away from us and prostitute them later.when they grow older, or they are going to do something to us women. That is the risk that we Mexicans are also fleeing from,” he explained.
Insufficient technology
President Joe Biden’s Administration announced the ‘CBP One’ application as a technological solution to manage access to ports of entry at the border, but activists criticize it for its limited ability to respond to high demand.
Many migrants report constant problems, such as blockages on the platform, restrictive schedules for scheduling appointments, and lack of technical assistance.
“Not everyone has a proper phone or internet access. It is a tool that excludes the most vulnerable“said Lourdes Contreras, a volunteer at a local shelter.
“People here are desperate, and every day that goes by without an appointment increases their anxiety,” he added.
The situation is aggravated by the climate of urgency that Trump’s victory has awakened among migrants, who fear that time will not allow them to complete the necessary procedures before possible legal changes, such as mass deportations.
The shelters in Ciudad Juárez are also waitingand organizations working in the region warn that the lack of effective solutions is putting both migrants and the communities that host them at risk.
Furthermore, the psychological impact of waiting and uncertainty has become evident.
“We don’t know what is going to happen, if they are going to deport everyone here along the border or only the displaced Mexicans. or the Mexicans who are in the United States here at the border,” said Pastor Juan Fierro García, director of the El Buen Samaritano shelter of the Methodist Church of Mexico.
“I believe that Mexico, and all of Mexico’s borders, are not prepared to be able to receive these people and be able to give them some type of shelter,” he warned.
With information from EFE.
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