A new report reveals that more than 14,000 migrants who had hoped to cross into the United States have turned back due to the Trump administration’s hardline border enforcement policies. The phenomenon, referred to as ‘reverse flow’ migration, has mainly impacted migrants fleeing the economic and political turmoil in Venezuela, who have been moving north through Central America toward the U.S. Since 2017, around 8 million people have fled Venezuela’s political crisis. The report, published by the governments of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica with the support of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, states that northward migration has plummeted by 97% this year.
The report links the reversal to President Donald Trump’s border policies, with 46% of migrants citing policy changes and 49% saying they could not enter the U.S. Another 34% ran out of resources, and 17% feared detention or deportation. Migration through the treacherous Darién Gap, on the border of Colombia and Panama, peaked in 2023 with over half a million migrants crossing. However, the report also blames U.S. financial reductions for drying up humanitarian aid, leading NGOs and U.N. agencies to scale back operations in places like the Darién Gap and along return routes. Additionally, tougher transit restrictions in Panama have nearly shut down the traditional pipeline toward the U.S.
The flow of migrants slowed somewhat in 2024 but dried up almost completely in early 2025 as President Trump fulfilled his campaign promise of shutting the border. Southwest border apprehensions hit a monthly record low in July, with only 4,399 apprehensions, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. For the third month in a row, there were zero releases. This is a new all-time record low, beating the prior record low of 6,070 in June. Biden repeatedly had days with apprehensions ranging from 8,000 to 10,000, with his highest single month being December 2023, when 249,785 Border Patrol apprehensions were recorded.
The migrants who had hoped to reach the U.S. now find themselves in a difficult situation, facing violence, abuse, and exploitation, according to the report. Roughly 50% of those interviewed in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia said they intended to return to Venezuela, while around a quarter planned to go to neighboring Colombia, previously the epicenter of the mass migration from Venezuela. Others are unsure of their next steps. Some migrants are moving south within Latin America, but the report warns they face unsafe boat journeys, dependence on smugglers, and criminal groups that prey on returnees. Others remain stranded in places like Palenque, Miramar, Necoclí, Bahía Solano, and Medellín, sleeping in parks or abandoned buildings without access to food, shelter, or medical care.
Humanitarian monitors note many migrants are turning to survival strategies such as informal work, begging, or even transactional sex. One migrant said,