TIJUANA, Mexico — Migrants and Mexicans who work with migrants just south of San Diego told me there has been a notable decline in people coming to Baja California’s largest city before attempting to cross the border illegally.
Shelters and government officials have also noticed the number of deportees sent into Tijuana has notably decreased. This is not because there have been fewer deportations, but due to the Department of Homeland Security increasingly flying Mexicans further south and, in some cases, to other Latin American countries to discourage illegally crossing again.
“For migrants from Mexico and other countries who want to cross into the United States, the situation becomes more difficult every day, and the risks become much greater…At a certain point, that has caused people to stop coming to the border,” said José María García Lara, the coordinator for the Tijuana Migrant Alliance.
Diana Ortiz Villacorta Ramírez, the municipal director for Migrant Services in Tijuana, said deportations from the U.S. have been as far south as Villahermosa, Tabasco, a 45-hour drive away, and Tapachula, Chiapas, a 48-hour drive away.
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“Last year, we were receiving 100 or 200 people a day. Right now, we receive 10, 15 or 20 people,” she explained.
García Lara said the videos from DHS and anti-ICE activists showing “very aggressive” arrests tells people in Latin America the United States “does not want any more migrants in the country. That has resulted in far fewer migrants arriving here in border cities such as Tijuana.”
García Lara estimates Tijuana has seen an 80% decrease in migrants, Mexicans and other nationalities, coming to the city.
“Many people definitely returned to their cities of origin. Others returned to their countries of origin,” Villacorta Ramírez noted. For the migrants who have remained by the border, “we have seen the successful integration of many people, repatriated Mexicans as well as foreigners, of course.”
Villacorta Ramírez and other local government agencies were hosting an El Salvador fair at a city park to highlight the contributions Salvadorans have made to Tijuana.
It is not just Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws that has migrants deciding to not cross right now, it is also attempts at things like getting rid of birthright citizenship. Yesenia Ardón has been by the border for seven years after leaving El Salvador and deciding to make Mexico her home. Being a long-time resident, she has seen the effects of such attempts.
“Many people have chosen to stay because they have heard those comments,” Ardón said about Trump’s desire for ending birthright citizenship. “At the same time, they are afraid because they have heard about people being sent as far away as Africa.
“So they would rather stay in Mexico than attempt to cross and risk being scammed or robbed,” she added.
The deportations to African countries are part of third-country deals if someone has an order to not be returned to their country of origin.
“Look, I think there is an enormous amount of uncertainty. Let’s start with visas, which they began revoking several weeks ago on a more massive scale, if you will,” García Lara concurred. “And now the issue of taking away citizenship from people or children born in the United States has come up again. Many of them were born there but have parents who entered the United States on visas.”
Pastor Gustavo Banda, who runs a shelter in the city’s hills, believes Trump “cannot follow through on everything he has said, or rather, he cannot back it up with actions. We’re getting close to the elections, and we know he is going to lose by a landslide. So, as I see it, these are desperate last-ditch efforts.”
Alejandro Martinez entered the U.S. in 1961 and was deported 14 years ago after being convicted for a felony. Since his job prospects in Mexico are severely limited being 75-years-old, he is now a resident at Banda’s shelter. He is trying to see if he can get access to his Social Security benefits.
“The worst government in the history of the U.S.,” he said about the Trump administration. “Trump is the worst criminal, he’s the biggest criminal in the history of the U.S…Hopefully, when they get the Republicans out of there, things will change.”
While Tijuana has gone through changes, that does not mean migrants are not watching the upcoming elections in November and 2028. Multiple videos on social media still show migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Central and South Americans who were part of a caravan that left southern Mexico in June told me they were heading north partly because they will have an easier time crossing should Democrats win the presidency and reverse Trump’s policies again.
Another migrant caravan left the Mexico-Guatemala border in August. That trend is expected to increase if Democrats make big gains in the midterms.
Fox News reported on Thursday DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is working with the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services to block foreign pregnant women from entering the U.S. if they are late into the third term of their pregnancy to safeguard against birth tourism.
One thing I noticed whenever I have reported either at the southern border or in Mexico is Americans telling me to tell the migrants to “go back home” because Americans don’t want them here. I asked the people who spoke with me what their opinion is on such comments…
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