By Jose Torres
TAPACHULA (Reuters) - Hundreds of migrants waited in long lines outside an immigration office in southern Mexico on Monday, hoping to secure safe passage north and enter the U.S. legally before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Trump plans to end President Joe Biden's humanitarian programs, including one that allows migrants in parts of Mexico to make an appointment on a U.S. government app, known as CBP One, to approach a port of entry and enter the U.S. legally.
The Mexican government runs a program of busing migrants with confirmed CBP One appointments from southern Mexico to the northern border, seeking to protect them from gangs and organized crime groups that extort and kidnap migrants traveling across the country.
On Monday, migrants in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula waited to secure seats on these buses and expressed relief that they'd managed to land one of the coveted CBP One appointments for early January, before Trump takes office on the 20th.
"We will arrive before President Donald Trump takes office, regardless of the actions he may take," said Venezuelan migrant Johandry Paz. "We already have confirmed appointments and we want to reach our destination: the United States of America."
The Mexican government's buses generally run two or three times a week, transporting migrants over a thousand miles north to Mexican border cities.
"Yesterday my appointment was confirmed for Jan. 4, so I'm in a rush" to reach the border, said Salvadoran migrant Jose Escobar.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have been able to enter the U.S. legally and access work permits as a result of CBP One and other Biden humanitarian programs.