Few Migrants Remain at Once-Bustling Mexico-U.S. Border

Few Migrants Remain at Once-Bustling Mexico-U.S. Border

As President Trump's tariff deadline on Mexico approaches, a noticeable change has occurred on the Mexican side of the U.S. border: the migrants are largely gone.

Once bustling border cities like Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros, which were previously crowded with people waiting to cross, now see nearly empty shelters. Parks, hotels, and vacant buildings that were once packed with migrants from around the world now stand unoccupied.

At the border itself, the camps where migrants once slept close to the towering 30-foot wall have disappeared. Instead, only scattered belongings like dusty clothes, shoes, toothpaste tubes, and water bottles are left behind.

“All that is over,” said Rev. William Morton, a missionary at a Ciudad Juárez cathedral that provides free meals to migrants. “Nobody can cross.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that Customs and Border Protection apprehended only 200 people at the southern border last Saturday—an all-time low for a single day in over 15 years.

While President Trump has taken credit for the sharp decline in border crossings due to his immigration crackdown, analysts point to Mexico's own actions in the past year as a significant factor in this shift. Mexico has ramped up its efforts to reduce migration, not only at the border but throughout the country, with measures like visa restrictions, checkpoints along migrant routes, and dispersing migrant caravans.

As a result, in February, the Trump administration delayed the imposition of 25% tariffs on Mexican exports for a month, urging Mexico to reduce both migration and the flow of fentanyl. These efforts have strengthened Mexico's negotiating position, as it is now seen as indispensable to U.S. immigration control.

“Mexico has new leverage compared to 2019,” said Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee, analysts with the Migration Policy Institute. They noted that Mexico’s cooperation has made it an essential partner for the U.S.

In addition to U.S. policies, the Biden administration's sweeping asylum restrictions last year further contributed to the drop in migration numbers. Mexico has also taken aggressive measures, such as establishing checkpoints, restricting visas, and sending migrants from countries like Venezuela to remote southern regions to prevent them from reaching the U.S. border.

As a result, the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border has plummeted by about 90%, according to Enrique Serrano Escobar, who leads the Chihuahua State office for migrants in Juárez.

Many migrants who do manage to reach the border no longer attempt to cross into the U.S. “They know they can’t cross,” said Father Morton. “The underground tunnels and wall openings have been sealed. It’s much harder now.”

At migrant shelters in Mexican border cities, empty tables and unused bunk beds have become the norm during meal times. Even before Trump took office, the number of people apprehended attempting to cross the border had been on the decline.

Many migrants in border cities now have appointments through CBP One, a program that allows asylum seekers to schedule appointments with authorities rather than attempting to cross the border illegally.

The landscape at the border has changed, with fewer migrants and stricter measures in place, leaving the once-bustling crossings nearly empty.

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