Migrants cross Mexico on their way to the U.S.

by Guillermo Alvarado

Groups of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, especially from Central American countries, are moving through Mexico with feelings of fear and sadness due to the onslaught promised by Donald Trump against those who try to enter the United States without documents.

The real estate magnate has assured that he will carry out the largest deportation of migrants in an irregular situation ever known in history, which will strain relations between Washington and numerous governments in the region.

It is well known that many people in the region are moving their battered economies thanks to the remittances they receive from their relatives in the North, which represent a good part of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In the second half of this year, El Salvador, for example, received 25 percent of its GDP from this type of transfer, and if it disappears or decreases significantly, the economy will be shattered.

 This tragedy will be repeated in many places, and we already know the high cost in terms of massive poverty, hunger, and hopelessness.

It must be said that it does not seem possible that Trump and his gang will be able to implement their anti-immigrant program as they think, among other reasons because part of the cheap labor that generates profits in U.S. companies comes from this sector.

But a human drama of great proportions is coming, as confirmed a few hours ago by Tom Homan, Trump's so-called "Border Czar," who assured that he will imprison migrant families in detention centers before expelling them from the country.

With total cynicism, he said that he does not want to separate these families, but he will deport undocumented parents, even if they have children born in the United States. "We will leave it up to the families to decide whether they will leave together or separately," he said.

In a more humanistic sense, Mexico is coming to the aid of those stranded and living in uncertainty on its territory, offering work to those who choose to stay or facilities to those who decide to return to their country of origin.

The general feeling, however, is one of holding one's breath, waiting for the blow that is just around the corner and whose effects will be terrible for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in many parts of our region.