Post-Election, Migrant Caravans and Other Border Threats are Already Materializing

FAIR Take | November 2024

Americans who voted for President Trump because they want our borders secured may feel relieved by the outcome of Tuesday’s election, but migrants already see the writing on the wall. That means between now and Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, Americans could be facing volatility on our southern border.

On Election Day, a migrant caravan, consisting of 3,000 migrants, set off from Tapachula, Chiapas towards the U.S. southern border in order to illegally cross into the U.S. while the Biden-Harris administration is still in power. U.S. Border Patrol officials confirm this is already happening and noted the arrogantly defiant mood driving the caravans. Some migrants carried banners with the message: “No more migrant blood.”

Migrant caravans are not new to U.S. border officials. Although they received a great deal of media attention during the first Trump administration, they remained a feature under the Biden-Harris administration as well. According to a study by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, “[t]he first of the migrant caravans appeared in 2017 and a total of 30 have been detected through the end of 2022, with nearly half of them forming in 2021.”

In recent years, however, caravan organizers have had an advantage in addition to their numbers. They also had open-borders policies in the U.S., including the abuse of immigration parole that allowed many migrants to be released into the U.S. rather than detained. The revival of catch-and-release meant that reaching the border was as good as entering for most migrants. They have had lasting impacts on America, however. And, as the Baker Institute study also admits, local communities in Mexico “have felt the strain of having to accommodate such large groups, despite government and NGO support.”

Many migrants have paused their journeys in southern Mexican states like Chiapas while they wait for an appointment to illegally cross using the CBP One app. They acquired permits allowing them to stay in Mexico temporarily, and, thus, “[s]ince most migrants had permits, Mexican immigration officials could not stop them from making the journey. Law enforcement simply stood by as the caravan began.” At best, “[s]ome of the agents photographed the caravan for internal documentation within the agency.” While Mexico City has helped significantly decrease illegal immigration to the U.S. (certainly much more than the Biden-Harris administration itself) for political reasons, Mexico also has a long history of tolerating, enabling, and even facilitating mass illegal migration into the U.S.

For now, Mexico’s new president Claudia Sheinbaum has assured Mexicans that Trump’s victory is “no reason to worry” while the president-elect has threatened, the day before the election, to impose tariffs on Mexico if the country refuses to cooperate on illegal migration. “I’m going to inform her,” Trump said, “on day one or sooner, that if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I am going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send into the United States of America, Trump told supporters at a rally. “If that doesn’t work,” he added, “I’ll make it 50, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll make it 75. Then I’ll make it 100.”

There seems to be evidence that Trump’s promises are already working. Some media outlets are reporting that individuals in the caravan are turning back. Whether that is the decision of individual migrants or due to actions taken by Mexico’s government remains to be seen. In either case, however, Americans must closely watch the Biden-Harris administration and demand that they secure the border even though Kamala Harris lost the election. There will be migrants, open-borders advocates, and even bad actors trying to take advantage of the two-month transition of power when the Biden-Harris administration still pulls the strings at the borers. Indeed, just hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of our presidential election, a group of 100 migrants rushed the border in Texas. Americans must demand our outgoing leaders respect the results of the elections and take action to ensure Americans are protected.