Trump has closed the border, leaving immigrants in Mexico with few options

When the panic subsided, two men tied a ladder to a rope and placed it over the steel border wall that separates Tijuana from southern California.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” cried the smugglers at the bottom of the stairs. A young woman from Zimbabwe stood at the top and looked into his eyes, hesitating before taking the next step.

On Monday, as immigrants in Mexico learned that President Trump had rescinded asylum designations shortly after taking office and planned to sign several executive orders sealing the border, one group made a last-ditch effort desperate and dangerous to cross the United States.

One by one they climbed into the wobbly structure, then slid down the other side. Those who succeeded helped capture the women and children. But a woman fell to the ground on the way down and was crying and crying and holding her leg.

“We do it out of necessity, not out of desire, and that’s it,” said Carlos Porras, 39, from Peru, speaking through the bar. He also injured his ankle while jumping and limped.

Shortly after that, the group of people were approached by border police and taken away.

The incident revealed the desperation of migrants who learned on Monday that the border was closed for good. Everyone was allowed to take control of their emotions, from confusion to despair.

“I feel angry, I feel sad, I feel everything,” said Katherine Romero, 36, a Venezuelan who waited a year in Mexico City for her appointment on Monday and worked odd jobs to collect her plane ticket. to Tijuana. “I don’t believe it.”

In a series of orders signed late Monday, Mr. Trump closed the nation’s borders to immigrants, part of a political barrage that included a national emergency declaration to send in the military. to the border and intercepting asylum seekers.

His administration shut down the CBP One app just minutes after Mr. Trump was sworn in as president earlier in the day. Created by the Biden administration, the app allowed immigrants to schedule an appointment to enter the United States but has been targeted by Republicans.

The program allowed 1,450 people a day to schedule a time at the port of entry and apply for asylum. More than 900,000 people entered the country using CBP One from its launch until the end of 2024.

At an immigration camp in Mexico City on Monday, Cristian Morillo Romero, a Venezuelan who arrived in Mexico more than a year ago, learned that Mr. Trump had ended the CBP One program. He said he didn’t know what that meant at his Jan. 26 appointment in Calexico, Calif.

Then he opened the email. A message in English titled “CBP One Appointment Focus” explained that existing appointments were “no longer valid”.

“I want to cry,” said Mr. Morillo Romero, 37. When the day finally hit him, he did.

In Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso, a group of only 100 people were allowed to cross into the United States because of their early morning appointments. Then, just before 11 a.m., Mexican border officials said they received a notification from their American counterparts: No more appointments.

“I was shocked,” said John Flores Bonalte, 36, a Venezuelan who did not show up for his 1 p.m. appointment. “It’s not fair. We have been waiting to cross legally for a long time. I have been waiting in Mexico for seven months for this assignment.”

José Antonio Zuchite, 40, said he left Honduras in September and waited five months in Mexico City before arriving in Ciudad Juárez at the weekend “with great hope” for his appointment on Monday afternoon which was cancelled.

“I don’t have a place to stay,” he said, his voice cracking. “I have no family or acquaintances here. I’m on my way.”

Aline Corpus in Tijuana and Anie Correal in Mexico City contributed to the report.