Entering the US Has Never Been So Difficult

President Donald Trump is taking strong measures to address the humanitarian crisis taking place at the southern U.S. border.

Under the president’s leadership, the U.S. has reinforced the border and is enforcing new immigration laws, taking measures to prevent abuse of the system by people seeking asylum.

As the president said on Sept. 18, during his visit to the southwest border, “Nobody is coming in unless they’re coming in legally.”

What do Guatemalans need to know about what has changed before they consider the possibility of undertaking a long, expensive and useless journey north?

First, the U.S. is reinforcing the physical barrier along the southwest border. With these improvements, crossing illegally into the U.S. is increasingly more difficult, and those who try will be arrested and deported. Last year, the U.S. arrested more than 800,000 people at the border and deported more than 250,000.

Entering the U.S. illegally has never been so difficult. If you try, you will be arrested and deported.

Second, the U.S. has closed the legal loophole that allowed immigrants to abuse the system by remaining in the U.S. indefinitely as they seek asylum.

Now, to be eligible to apply for asylum in the U.S., applicants have to first apply for asylum in the first country they cross on their immigration journey and have to be rejected by that country. This means that any Guatemalans who want to apply for asylum in the U.S. first have to apply to, and be rejected by, Mexico.

Additionally, immigrants that are eligible to apply for asylum in the U.S. have to wait in Mexico during their U.S. immigration court proceedings.

You can no longer claim asylum to enter the U.S. If you try, you will be deported and forced to wait in Mexico, usually for more than an entire year, for your case to be heard.

Lastly, even if you enter illegally, there are no guarantees that you will be allowed to stay in the U.S.

The U.S. is actively working to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally, as we have seen in the most recent laws being enforced in workplaces, such as those enforced in Mississippi last August.

This year alone, the U.S. has deported more than 44,000 Guatemalans back to their home country.

When the “coyotes” claim they can help you enter the U.S. legally, they are lying, no matter what they promise. In conclusion, the border to the U.S is closed to illegal entry. There has never been a worse time to try to illegally immigrate to the U.S.