Migrants on the southern border of Mexico try to return to their countries or obtain a regular status in the country after the restrictions of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, but hundreds cannot return with their own means while the shelters serve them without government support.
The Catholic Church in Tapachula, the largest city on the border with Central America, shared with EFE its concern because it is preparing with its own resources to receive people deported by the Trump Government to the southern border and helping those who seek to return voluntarily to their countries.
Father César Augusto Cañaveral, responsible for the Pastoral Care for Human Mobility, warned of the impact of mass deportations and the response of the Government of Mexico to Trump’s policies.
“In the shelter we have 40% of people who are returning to their countries of origin, between 70 and 80 people who are at the door to be returned,” he said in an interview.
Most, the priest detailed, are people from Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia and Venezuela who are in Mexico with families who now prefer to return to their countries since Trump returned to the White House on January 20.
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In particular, they have been discouraged by the policies of mass deportations, the “closing” of the border with thousands of deployed soldiers and the elimination of the ‘CBP One’ application of the Office of Customs and Border Protection that allowed to apply for asylum in the United States from southern Mexico.
“They are truncated hopes of no longer wanting to (continue) and another (reason is) because they stopped their migration procedures and have wanted to return and not expose their lives to what we are living in Mexico,” commented the priest.
Migrants also perceive a tightening in politics in Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 elements of the National Guard (GN) on the border with the United States after a call on February 3 with Trump to pause 25% tariffs on Mexican products for a month.
“Something has to be done with that president of the United States, who can let us in, we are sad,” Venezuelan Alvani Villasana, who went out in the last caravan in search of reaching Mexico City, told EFE.
In particular, Venezuelans, who account for about a quarter of irregular migration in Mexico, regret that Trump has ended with Temporary Protection Status (TPS) and the ‘CBP One’.
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“We went through the jungle, we went through many things, so that today it comes out with that it has already eliminated the TPS and the ‘CBP One’. What else does it touch us?” he said.
Another Venezuelan, Nancy Soler, arrived at a shelter in Tapachula after living in a camp, but said that these shelters are no longer an option under the surveillance of the authorities.
“We would rather stay here (on the street) than stay there. Imagine I come from Venezuela, crossing seven countries to get here, crossing the jungle, going through work to continue the same, I’m not going to the United States, I’m going to Zacatecas, where they’re waiting for me, but there’s no kind of permit,” he lamented.
Herbert Bermúdez, administrator of the Jesús El Buen Pastor shelter, mentioned that this place is preparing to receive deported migrants with a capacity for 1,200 people.
“If the United States deports them, Mexico awaits them with open arms, it is a very beautiful thing of humanity from the Government, not government money, but there is support from the Government, such as food, mats, which is the most essential, food, a place to rest,” he said.
Maduro urges UN to intervene for venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador
Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term in January following his controversial re-election, urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to intervene on behalf of Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador after being deported from the United States.
During a broadcast on the state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Maduro claimed these Venezuelans were “kidnapped”, forcibly disappeared, and held in “concentration camps.”
He also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for failing to release the list of migrants deported on March 16, who were allegedly accused of belonging to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, which originated in a Venezuelan prison.
“Reports say there are 238 Venezuelans kidnapped in prisons, in concentration camps, in El Salvador. A week after they were taken and thrown into these camps, neither the U.S. government nor Nayib Bukele have published the list of those they have kidnapped in El Salvador,” Maduro stated, calling it a “forced disappearance.”
Canada updates U.S. travel advisory amid immigration policy changes
In a coordinated action with several European allies, Canada has updated its travel advisory for citizens visiting the United States, citing changes in immigration policies and law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland have issued similar warnings, highlighting stricter border screenings, tighter visa restrictions, and new federal guidelines that particularly affect transgender and non-binary travelers.
These advisories reflect growing diplomatic concerns over how the recent U.S. policy shifts are impacting foreign visitors, especially tourists and long-term travelers. Additionally, this marks a rare instance in which multiple NATO allies publicly warn their citizens about travel to the United States.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to meet with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on friday
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum next Friday.
According to statements made to Fox News, the Trump administration official will travel this week to El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico.
On Wednesday, Noem is scheduled to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, with whom she will tour the mega-prison built to detain gang members in the country.
On Thursday, she will visit Colombia, where she will hold talks with President Gustavo Petro and top law enforcement officials.
On Friday, Noem will be in Mexico, where she is expected to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente.
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The meetings with Latin American leaders take place amid ongoing U.S. pressure on regional governments to accept deported migrants.
