Since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the number of migrants detained on the US-Mexico border has plummeted to the lowest total in 40 years. For organized crime groups, this has meant a huge loss in profits, since many groups — stretching from Colombia to Mexico — had capitalized on migrant flows and offered smuggling services.

In 2024, 1.5 million migrants were apprehended on the southern US border. Two years earlier, it was a record-breaking 2.2 million.

Like he did during his first term, Trump has villanized migrants and pledged to reduce immigration. So far in his second term, he has been successful in that respect. But organized crime is nothing if not adaptable, and is already finding new ways to compensate for its losses.

As Migrant Flows Drop, Crime Groups Adapt in Ciudad Juárez | Written by Victoria Dittmar and read by Parker Asmann.

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