“On day one of my new administration, I will stop all migrant flights. I will shut down all entries through the migrant phone app. I will end catch-and-release. I will restore Remain in Mexico…we will seal the border,” Donald Trump told a Wisconsin campaign rally in September. Now that he has been elected as the next US president, what will happen remains to be seen. Will he be able to deport people who have lived in the US for many years? What would that process look like? What will happen to the families waiting for court dates to plead their asylum cases? Can Trump close down the CBP1 migrant phone app through which many families and individuals have made appointments to begin the asylum process? What US resources will he need, and what governmental agencies will help carry out the plans? Are these policy changes even legal?
The answers to these questions are currently unknown, but that does not stop migrant advocates from predicting and planning for what will happen. Will migrants be detained or sent back to their own or another country? Will new detention facilities be built, and where will they be located? Will people expelled from the US be sent to all or only to some of the southern border ports? Will only Mexicans be returned to Mexico?
At the November meeting of the volunteers at the Centro de Recursos para Migrantes in Agua Prieta, Son, MX, the director asked those present what was on their hearts about the impending changes now that Trump would be the new US president. Many volunteers were especially concerned about the fate of the thousands of migrants who had just been accepted into the US asylum process earlier this year. Would they be among the first to be deported? Where would they go? What would happen to them? There was concern about how Mexico would handle the situation. There was particular concern for how the safety of any migrants who returned to Agua Prieta would be affected because of the known criminal elements in this city.
There are so many people, organizations and government policies that need prayer.
- Pray that authorities in US sanctuary cities and states do not help with the proposed deportations.
- Pray that all the affected migrants will be treated justly and humanely.
- Pray that a better way can be found.
- Pray for all those who are preparing to help the migrants caught in this terrible situation.
