14K US-bound migrants have returned south since Trump border changes, report says

More than 14,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, have abandoned attempts to reach the US and turned back south since President Donald Trump took office in January, according to a United Nations-backed report released Aug. 29.

The joint report from the governments of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica — published with support from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights — found that northward migration plunged 97% this year, according to AP News. 

Government ombudsmen from the three countries interviewed migrants returning south and found that 97% were Venezuelan. Of those, 51% said they planned to return to Venezuela, 36% to Colombia, 6% to Chile, 2% to Peru, and 1% to Ecuador. Another 15% were undecided or headed elsewhere. 

Since 2021, hundreds of thousands have crossed the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama to reach the US, AP reported. In 2023 alone, more than half a million migrants made the trek. 

Under the Biden administration, a government smartphone app called CBP One became the main entry point for asylum seekers, letting migrants schedule appointments at ports of entry. 

By January 2024, the app had enabled at least 422,000 arrivals, CatholicVote previously reported. At the time, several Senate Republicans criticized the app and urged tighter restrictions on the administration’s border policies. The Daily Wire reported that Trump shut down the app and canceled all existing appointments on his first day in office.