Migrants Race to US Border Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

Migrants from Central and South America are rushing to reach the US-Mexico border before President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration on January 20, 2025, fearing his promised crackdown on immigration will close their path to asylum. Altagracia, a 39-year-old Honduran mother, left her hometown of Siguatepeque in October after gang violence claimed several family members and death threats forced her to flee. She is now racing against time to reunite with her children in the US.

Speaking from a shelter in Oaxaca, Mexico, Altagracia told CNN, “We’ve been told that when Trump starts, he won’t let us in.” Her concerns stem from Trump’s campaign promises to close the border and launch the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Migrants like Altagracia face harrowing journeys, often robbed by cartels and relying on shelters and activists for survival.

US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data shows migrant crossings at their lowest levels since 2020, with around 46,000 border encounters recorded in November 2024. However, experts like George Mason University professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera caution that Trump’s rhetoric may only delay, not deter, migration. “When people are in grave danger, they will flee regardless of US restrictions,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney.

Mexico, under President Claudia Sheinbaum, has intensified efforts to disperse migrant caravans and reduce border pressures. Sheinbaum’s government has also prepared shelters for potential deportees and increased drug seizures and arrests. Despite these measures, migrants like Venezuelan Ender Antonio Castañeda find themselves stranded in cities like Acapulco, unable to continue their journey north.

For Altagracia and others, the journey is far from over. “Tonight, we are walking 14 hours,” she said. “We have to keep going.”