Camila and her family were preparing to travel from Costa Rica to the U.S. in just two weeks as part of the “Safe Mobility” resettlement program. However, Trump’s recent announcements and the signing of new anti-immigration executive orders have cast uncertainty over their plans. The White House has announced that, starting January 27, 2025, a new policy will restrict the admission of asylum seekers at U.S. borders.
Under the executive order, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program will be suspended for 90 days. Its continuation will depend on a report from the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, assessing the program’s viability.
Camila and hundreds of other Nicaraguans awaiting resettlement in Costa Rica—many of whom have already been approved—now face an uncertain future. Camila has not received any updates from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and remains in limbo as she waits for further decisions from the U.S. administration. “Our process took over a year, and we had everything ready to travel. Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We sold what little we had in Costa Rica, and now we don’t know where to turn,” she explains.
The Republican president has justified the suspension by claiming that, over the past four years, the U.S. has been “flooded with record levels of migration.” He points to states like New York and Massachusetts, which have declared emergencies due to the surge in migration, arguing that refugee admissions under the resettlement program “would harm the interests of the United States.” The decision is supported by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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The Safe Mobility Program, a U.S. government initiative supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the IOM, and other partners, had benefited over 23,000 refugees from the Western Hemisphere in 2024—four times more than in 2023. Among them were 2,340 Nicaraguans.
Trump’s decision gives Homeland Security and State Department officials discretion to admit refugees, provided they do not pose a threat to the nation’s safety and well-being.
The End of CBP One

As part of his anti-immigration agenda, Trump has also terminated the CBP One program. Introduced in 2023 during Joe Biden’s administration, this program allowed migrants at the southern border to submit asylum requests through Customs and Border Protection.
Following the approval of Trump’s executive order, all scheduled appointments for migrants in Mexico have been canceled, and the app used to manage these requests has been deactivated. This decision has left thousands of Nicaraguan asylum seekers unable to process their claims at the U.S. southern border, sparking widespread despair.
The CBP One website now states: “As of January 20, 2025, CBP One™ functionalities that previously allowed undocumented foreign nationals to submit information in advance and schedule appointments at eight southwestern border ports of entry are no longer available, and existing appointments have been canceled.”
According to The New York Times, a former Homeland Security official disclosed that by Monday morning, 30,000 migrants had appointments scheduled through the app. Since its launch in early 2023, CBP One facilitated the entry of over 900,000 migrants into the U.S. by allowing 1,450 individuals per day to schedule appointments at border entry points.
Alternatives for Nicaraguans

Despite halting the CBP One program and pausing the Refugee Admissions Program, Trump has reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, first introduced in 2018 during his previous administration. Under this policy, Nicaraguans who enter the U.S. illegally or without proper documentation and apply for asylum will be sent back to Mexico to await the outcome of their immigration cases. This move could trigger a border crisis and overcrowding in shelters, reminiscent of the challenges seen during Trump’s first term.
“People will now need to register in Mexico. The difference is that, previously, they had the right to fight for asylum within the U.S. Under the new process, all cases must be handled in Mexico, and individuals will be transported to Immigration Courts near the border,” explains immigration lawyer Miguel Inda Romero.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that her government is not obligated to accept the reimplementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy or to take in migrants returned from the U.S., adding further complications to an already tense regional situation.
For Nicaraguans in the U.S. under Parole, the only option is to file for political asylum, a process that is both lengthy and complex. Meanwhile, Venezuelans and Haitians under Parole have the possibility of applying for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Currently, more than 11 million immigrants live in the U.S., but a report from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) estimates that up to 2.7 million people risk losing their deportation protections, including those covered by programs like DACA or Parole.
The outlook remains uncertain and grim for hundreds of Nicaraguans. Still, many continue to hold onto hope of reaching U.S. soil, whether to seek new opportunities or to escape the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.