Tijuana migrants await US midterm results amid rising deportation counts

Midterm elections in the United States are drawing intense scrutiny from migrant advocacy groups in Tijuana.

Activists say the outcome could determine the future direction of US immigration policy and the daily conditions faced by those seeking entry into the country.

José María García Lara, a local activist, expressed hope that voters will make the right choice. He noted that many families were negatively impacted by measures implemented during the previous political cycle. "I hope they make the best decision, because two years ago they came to believe again that everything would change, but unfortunately in the migration issue many families have already been affected, and now it is up to them that this really changes, that they make the best decision for everything to return to normality," García Lara said.

Raúl Ochoa, another activist, argued that US immigration policy has hardened significantly since January of last year. He described a trend toward the criminalization of mobility, particularly evident through mass deportations. Ochoa stated that more than 23,000 people have been sent to 29 different countries and territories. He called the practice of deporting people to third nations deeply unjust.

José Luis Pérez Canchola, from the Municipal Directorate of Human Rights, pointed to the historical role of Mexican workers in the US economy. He said the US economy grew thanks to Mexican contributions, especially in agriculture and livestock. "If one reviews history, the US economy has grown thanks to the Mexicans, since the separation of the territories, over the years they became large crops and livestock, they were the Mexicans," Pérez Canchola said.

Advocacy groups in the border city are watching the election day closely. They are assessing how potential shifts in the US legislative and political landscape might alter the flow of migration. The decisions made in Washington could directly impact the thousands of individuals currently waiting along the Mexican border.