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Struggle for Asylum at US-Mexico Border

Marcos, shivering slightly, pulls his hoodie tightly over his head, not only to shield himself from the cold but also to hide his identity. A year ago, at just 16 years old, he was forcibly recruited by a drug cartel in his home state of Michoacán, Mexico.

Describing his experience of horror and escape, Marcos (a pseudonym) recounts how he and his family fled Michoacán with only the clothes on their backs. He remembers how, one evening while heading to a pharmacy to buy painkillers for his mother’s toothache, he was surrounded by four pick-up trucks filled with armed men. “Get in,” he recalls them demanding, “or we’ll kill your family.”

Taken to a shack, Marcos found himself alongside other young recruits, trapped in a life he never wanted. For months, he was forced to fight as a soldier in a war he had no part in, until he eventually managed to escape with the help of a sympathetic gang member.

Marcos now resides in a migrant shelter in Tijuana, a border city in Mexico, waiting for his asylum case to be heard by US authorities. He remains hopeful that he can prove he faces credible fear of persecution or torture in Mexico. However, with President Trump’s stringent immigration policies, he fears his chance for asylum is diminishing.

“I hope they assess each case individually,” he says, “and that Mr. Trump’s heart softens for those who truly need help.”

Shortly after resuming office, President Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at curbing illegal immigration and reducing asylum claims at the US-Mexico border. One of the measures targets drug cartels, labeling them as terrorist organizations, which could lead to military intervention and deportations.

Pastor Albert Rivera, who runs a shelter for those fleeing cartel violence, is perplexed by the contradiction in the orders. “If people are fleeing gangs, labeling them as terrorists may only strengthen their asylum claims,” he suggests.

While Trump’s supporters argue that these measures are necessary to protect US resources and prevent crime, for those stranded in Mexico, the new policies have had devastating effects. On the morning Trump was inaugurated, around 60 migrants who had gathered at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana were redirected back to shelters, as Mexican officials prevented them from entering the US. The CBP One app, the only legal method to request asylum at the border, had been disabled, leaving many without a path to pursue their claims.

For migrants like Oralia, who has been living in a tent with her children for months, the future looks bleak. Fleeing cartel threats from Michoacán, she had hoped to find safety and medical care for her epileptic son in the US. Without access to the CBP One app, Oralia’s faith in the asylum process has begun to fade.

“I just hope God moves him [Trump],” she says tearfully. “There are many families like ours who just want a safe life.”

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