Twelve people were walking along a lonely stretch of high desert outside of Mexico City. They were trying to get on a freight train that would take them closer to the United States. It was only a few days away, but they said they didn’t know much about the U.S. presidential election or their part in it.
Chilean citizen Santiago Marulanda, 38, said, “I don’t know much about American politics.” He was on his way to California from Venezuela with his wife and two kids. “The winner gets it all.” No matter who wins, though, I know things won’t be easy for us as newcomers.
One of the most important topics in the presidential race has been illegal immigration. Former President Trump promised to remove millions of people he calls “invaders” and “criminals,” and Vice President Kamala Harris said she would cut down on illegal immigration.
Kevin Ociel Canaca, 25, from Honduras, said, “Trump talks a lot, but he doesn’t scare me.” He was going to go to Houston.
He said he lived and worked there until he was removed last year, leaving behind a 3-year-old son.
“No matter who is president, if you’re a migrant, you’ll suffer,” Ociel said. “Someone will want you to leave the country no matter how hard you work. We won’t let that stop us.
A record number of people looking for refuge came to the U.S. border in the first three years of Biden’s presidency. In June, the president put strict new limits on refuge, which greatly decreased the number of people coming into the country. Harris has emphasized this accomplishment in her campaign.
Under a lot of pressure from Washington, Mexican officials have helped by stopping people going north on trains, roads, and planes. Mexico arrested almost a million migrants in the first eight months of the year, which is more than twice as many as during the same time in 2023.
Instead of sending these migrants, most of whom are from Latin America, back to their home countries, Mexican officials have sent most of them to the far south of the country, close to the border with Guatemala.
Not deterred, many just turn around and start their journeys again, this time going north, dodging criminals, corrupt police officers, and Mexican immigration agents.
One of the hundreds of migrants camped out in a dirty tent city outside the colonial-era Roman Catholic Church of Santa Cruz and Solitude in Mexico City was 29-year-old Yancarlis Caldera. “The Mexican migra has detained us multiple times, taken away our cellphones, beat us up, and sent us back to the south,” he said.
In September, she and her boyfriend left Venezuela, leaving three children behind.
“I’ve been all over Mexico at this point,” she stated. “I now know Mexico better than my own country.”
A lot of people living in the tent city use the U.S. government app CBP One every day to try to get a refugee appointment at the border so they can come to the U.S. There aren’t many appointments, and people often try for weeks or months without being successful.
For many migrants, the daily goal has become more important as the U.S. election draws near. Trump has promised to get rid of CBP One.
“What will we do if CPB One is gone?” Caldera asked as she stood in front of her tent, which had a black plastic tarp over it to keep the rain out. “No one is leaving for Venezuela.” That place doesn’t have anything for us. We will find a way to get to the US.
People who were asked along the train tracks north of Mexico City also felt the same way. For a long time, migrants have used the freight network known as La Bestia to catch rides north. Since the crackdown in Mexico, the number of people gathering by the tracks has gone down from hundreds to a few dozen, but some groups were still there to try their luck.
“We’ve been waiting months for an appointment through CBP One,” the 25-year-old Dinorah López Rojas said. She had come from Guatemala with her brother, husband, and uncle. No matter what, everyone was set on making it to the border and then to Southern California.
“Yes, we’ve heard that there may be deportations after the elections in the United States,” she stated. “But I’m not sure about either of them.” After taking so many risks, I just hope we don’t get sent back.
As a distant train rumbled by, López, her family, and she grabbed their bags in the hopes that the moving train would stop or slow down so that they could get on.
Source: U.S.-bound migrants say the election doesn’t matter: ‘You’re going to suffer whoever is president’
