Migrants are being advised by human smugglers to hurry up and pay them to cross the border before President-Elect Donald Trump takes back the White House. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, migrants across Latin America are being told by smugglers that the time is now to reach the U.S. southern border.
Officials on the U.S. side of the southern border told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they are bracing for the possibility of a last-minute migrant surge before inauguration day
“I am deeply concerned about the potential for a surge at our southern border as we near the end of President Biden’s term,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who represents a district by the California-Mexico border, stated to the DCNF.
“With the Trump Administration signaling that it will prioritize stricter immigration enforcement, many individuals seeking to enter the U.S. illegally are likely to try to do so before those policies are enacted.”
“Right now, we are already seeing 800 to 1,000 people entering our region daily, creating a massive strain on our resources, services, and communities,” Desmond continued. “The influx is overwhelming local infrastructure and endangering the well-being of residents.”
A WhatsApp group message reviewed by the WSJ indicates migrants close to the Darien Gap — a vast jungle region spread across the Panama and Colombia border where thousands of U.S-bound migrants cross every year – were told by a smuggler that he anticipates more deportations under the Trump administration.
“There were four WhatsApp groups in which hundreds of migrants coordinated their departure on U.S. election day,” Luis Villagrán, a Mexican migrant advocate who helps organize caravans in Tapachula, told the WSJ.
“As soon as Trump’s victory became clear, messages spreading fear began to appear,” Villagrán said.
In a statement to the DCNF, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency is remaining vigilant to ever-changing migration patterns, and urged migrants to “not believe the lies” of smugglers.
