Upon taking office, President Donald Trump implemented a series of controversial immigration policies, including executive orders that suspended asylum access, deployed military forces to the U.S.-Mexico border, and terminated humanitarian parole programs. These policies have had a particularly devastating impact on Haitian and other Black refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants, collectively referred to as “migrants” in this report.
One of the most concerning aspects of these policies is the suspension of asylum processing at the southern border, effectively denying migrants the internationally recognized right to seek asylum. This denial is in direct violation of international frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Refugee Convention and its Protocol, and the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980. Additionally, the policies breach non-refoulement obligations under the Refugee Convention, the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and U.S. law by returning asylum seekers to countries where they face persecution, torture, or other forms of harm.
With asylum access to the U.S. effectively shut down, many migrants, particularly Haitians, have no choice but to seek protection in Mexico. However, Black migrants face significant challenges in Mexico, including violence, discrimination, and extortion. Many Haitian migrants, in particular, never intended to stay in Mexico and feel unsafe due to racial discrimination, language barriers, and cultural differences. This has further exacerbated the difficulties faced by Haitian and other Black migrants who are now stranded in a country ill-equipped to offer them the protection they need.
The findings in this report are based on a combination of archival research, including recent reports from Human Rights First detailing the violence and exploitation of migrants, and primary data collected by Al Otro Lado (AOL) from 102 Haitian migrants in Mexico City between February and April 2025. This data is supplemented by interviews with over fifty Haitian migrants conducted by the Haiti Justice Partnership (HJP) in March 2025, in collaboration with AOL, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), and the UndocuBlack Network.
By externalizing its border into Mexico, the U.S. seeks to circumvent its obligations under international and domestic law, pushing migrants into a perilous situation where they are returned to regions where they are at risk of torture, cruel treatment, or irreparable harm. This externalization effort pressures Mexican authorities to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. border, compounding an already dire situation for Haitian and Black migrants in Mexico. Such actions also contravene U.S. obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), among other global human rights frameworks.
Given the gravity of the situation, the report calls for the U.S. government to take immediate steps to address the harm caused by these policies. These actions include restoring access to asylum, ending border externalization practices, strengthening non-refoulement protections, and collaborating with Mexico to improve legal status documentation, shelter, medical services, and protection from violence for Haitian and other Black migrants.
This report highlights the urgent need for a compassionate and lawful approach to migration that respects human rights and provides protection for those fleeing persecution.
Related topics:
- Global Immigration Recap: March 2025
- Germany’s Outgoing Government Claims Success in Tackling Irregular Immigration
- New Analysis Reveals Shifting Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe
