President Donald Trump's return to the White House has brought immediate and dramatic changes to U.S. immigration policy. Within days, his administration enacted measures that have effectively closed off legal pathways for migrants seeking asylum, leaving many stranded in Mexico border cities, including shutting down CBP One, the app used to legally request asylum at ports of entry. Amid the policy changes, misinformation and desperation pose to be favorable factors for human smuggling groups wanting to cash in on the "border crisis."
In this context, experts interviewed by The Latin Times anticipated that the scenario has the potential to empower human smugglers, increase dangerous crossings, and exacerbate instability at the U.S.-Mexico border as legal asylum options disappear.
Legal Pathways Closed, Confusion Grows
On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order suspending the CBP One app, which had allowed migrants to request asylum appointments at U.S. ports of entry. The app was one of the few remaining legal avenues to enter the country. Its suspension was accompanied by the reinstatement of the Remain in Mexico policy, the closure of U.S. immigration offices across Latin America, and orders for Border Patrol agents to deport asylum seekers without granting hearings.
These actions have reduced pathways to submit legal asylum applications. While some migrants have access to legal counsel, many are left to navigate the situation with limited information in their native languages.
Decision-Making Based on Misinformation
Migrants rely heavily on informal sources of information—family, community members, and even smugglers—because they don't have access to official government information or legal counseling, according to Denise Gilman, co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas.
"As government operations change, it also may mean that migrants may be subject to detention or other harsh measures because they take steps in reliance on informal information that is no longer correct," Gilman explained, adding that this dynamic also makes migrants more vulnerable to criminal groups that charge them thousands of dollars to smuggle them across the border, oftentimes putting them in life-threatening situations.
Misinformation Strengthens Smugglers' Grip
Former CBP Chief Victor Manjarrez highlighted how misinformation fuels smuggling operations. "Misinformation is what makes human smugglers rich," he said. "They live off the dreams and hopes of the poorest of the poor and exploit them by increasing smuggling fees and taking them through dangerous routes."
With legal options increasingly closed, smuggling schemes, which Mexican cartels increasingly control, become the primary gatekeepers for migrants seeking to enter the U.S. "This not only increases violence and instability in border regions but also forces migrants to take increasingly dangerous routes," Gilman added.
A Cycle of Crisis and Enforcement
"Migrants are fleeing egregious human rights violations in their home countries, and these harsh policies won't deter them," Gilman explained. "Instead, they'll take more hidden and dangerous routes to evade detection. This increases the power of organized crime and leaves migrants more vulnerable to exploitation."
Gilman predicts a short-term pause in border crossings as migrants wait to see how the situation develops. However, she warns that crossings will likely resume in greater numbers as migrants adapt to the new policies. "Those who had CBP One appointments will likely decide to cross without authorization rather than waiting in limbo. The system we've created essentially encourages irregular crossings and travel to the U.S. interior," she explained.
Determination from Stranded Migrants
Despite these new hurdles, some migrants remain determined to reach the United States in their quest for safety, opportunity, and family reunification.
That was the case of Dayana Castro, a 25-year-old migrant from Venezuela whose appointment was canceled after the app shut down. Her, her husband and their 4- and 7-year-old children had made their way through the dangerous Darien Gap jungle, escaping extreme weather conditions and criminal gangs that prey on migrants like them.
Castro and her family waited a year in Mexico for their asylum appointments, which were scheduled for February. Now, with little options, she's still determined to enter the U.S., she told The Associated Press.
"We're going to keep going. We can't go home after all we've been through, after all the countries we've fought our way through, only to give up now," she said from a small shelter in central Mexico beside a freight train line they were riding north.
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