Photo: Alamy
A new report from Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica says President Donald Trump’s border crackdown has prompted thousands of migrants to abandon plans to enter the United States and instead return to their home countries.
The joint study, compiled by ombudsmen from the three nations with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, found that more than 14,000 migrants were traveling south rather than north this year. Nearly all were Venezuelan, and about half said they planned to return to Venezuela.
“Migrants traveling south interviewed in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia by those countries’ ombudsmen offices were almost all Venezuelans (97%) and about half of them said they planned to return to Venezuela, according to the report,” the Associated Press reported. “Nearly all said they were returning because they could no longer legally reach the U.S.”
According to the report, 49 percent of migrants cited refusal of entry to the United States as the reason for turning back, while 46 percent pointed to policy changes. Seventeen percent said they feared detention or deportation, and 34 percent lacked financial resources to continue the journey.
Overall, northward migration through the region has dropped 97 percent in 2025, the report said.
Observers note the trend marks a dramatic shift in regional migration patterns. “For the first time in recent history, the people passing through Central America are mostly moving south,” The Atlantic wrote in April, attributing the reversal to Trump’s crackdown on legal and illegal crossings. Costa Rican official Omer Badilla Toledo said in March that his country was handling more than 200,000 asylum requests.
Trump, who took office in January, invoked presidential powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act to suspend entry for categories of migrants he deemed detrimental to U.S. interests. His proclamation restricted those “engaged in the invasion across the southern border” from seeking asylum or other protections until he determines the situation has ended.
The findings reveal the sweeping impact of the Trump administration’s immigration stance, which has reshaped migration in less than a year.