Tougher Immigration Measures in the U.S. Boost Human Smuggling Business in Mexico

• Trump’s Tougher Immigration Measures Cause Smuggling to Rise in Mexico.
• Migration Crisis Fuels Smuggling in Mexico.
• Tapachula: Smuggling Surge Driven by Trump’s Policies.

The recent immigration restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump in the United States have fueled the booming human smuggling business in southern Mexico, where criminal organizations are violently competing for control of routes to the northern border.

The cancellation of the CBP One program and the elimination of benefits like humanitarian parole have left hundreds of thousands of migrants in legal limbo, driving demand for clandestine transportation networks.

Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Centro de Dignificación Humana (CDH) in Tapachula, reported that human traffickers charge between $10,000 and $15,000 per trip to the US border.

According to the activist, this lucrative business has triggered clashes between cartels fighting for control of the route, leading to confrontations with the Chiapas state police as well. “The internal war among cartels has to do with that multimillion-dollar loot being split at the expense of migrants’ vulnerability,” he warned.

Trump’s Tougher Immigration Measures Cause Smuggling to Rise in Mexico

Tougher Immigration Measures in the U.S. Boost Human Smuggling Business in Mexico https://t.co/RO3AFa9mfd

— El Comercio (@elcomercio_peru) July 2, 2025

In Tapachula, the epicenter of the migration crisis in southern Mexico and where human smuggling is present, thousands of people from various countries are stranded with no legal options for travel. Ghislayne Jiménez Moret, a Cuban migrant, shared that she paid $5,000 to leave Cuba for Nicaragua and additional sums to reach Mexico.

“We pay ‘coyotes’ to get here because there’s no legal way to do it. Now I work 17 hours a day in a packing plant to survive,” she told EFE.

Another migrant, Fredy Lozano from Ecuador, recounted that he arrived in Tapachula a year ago with his family and faced extortion from immigration authorities along the way for not carrying a passport or visa.

“They charged us extra to let us through. Now I’m washing car windows while I wait for my documents,” he explained. His situation reflects the legal limbo facing over half a million people following the stricter immigration policies implemented in Washington.

Policies Fuel Crisis at the Southern Border

World | The impact has been felt in Tapachula, the epicenter of the migration crisis in southern Mexico, where human traffickers are battling for control of the route to the northern borde. https://t.co/Y4qynpztnX

— Diario1.com (@diario1_sv) July 2, 2025

The Trump administration has eliminated or suspended several programs introduced by his predecessor, such as humanitarian parole for Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti, as well as the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments to cross legally into the US.

Without these mechanisms, thousands of migrants are left without legal pathways to enter and fall into the hands of smugglers.

Trump has intensified his rhetoric and immigration policies to accelerate deportations and detentions, aiming to expel more than 11 million undocumented migrants.

Meanwhile, Tapachula has become a bottleneck where the human smuggling business is thriving, fueled by desperation and the lack of legal options for continuing the journey north.

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