Trump shuts down US-Mexico border for asylum seekers, leaving migrants in limbo

The US-Mexico border is effectively closed off to migrants seeking asylum in the United States within hours of President Donald Trump taking office, an extraordinary departure from previous protocols that has left many concerned migrants in limbo.

The US-Mexico border is effectively closed off to migrants seeking asylum in the United States within hours of President Donald Trump taking office, an extraordinary departure from previous protocols that has left many concerned migrants in limbo. It’s a rare combination of two policies — one from former President Joe Biden and other from Trump — that have nearly sealed off the US southern border to asylum seekers. With refugee admissions also set to be suspended, there are few, if any, avenues available to people seeking refuge in the United States. Biden’s executive action last summer restricting asylum for people crossing the border illegally was condemned by Democrats and immigrant advocates. Biden administration officials argued that migrants still had an option available to them through the border app known as CBP One to schedule an appointment at a legal port of entry. That option was shut down minutes after Trump was sworn in, leaving thousands of migrants in limbo and resulting in a border that is largely sealed off to asylum seekers. Migrants who had been waiting for their appointments along Mexico’s northern border expressed shock and disappointment. Luis, a Venezuelan migrant who has lived in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for the past nine months, told CNN’s Valeria León he was “trying to do things the right way,” before learning that his appointment scheduled for Monday through the CBP One app had been abruptly canceled.