Many of the people we met along the Central American migration route fled their home countries because of conflict, violence, and social exclusion. Some people were also in search of a better life and economic opportunities. In February 2025, our team in Mexico met a woman from Honduras who left her home after a gang tried to recruit her husband. Stories like hers are far too common.

For many people who are now stranded around the region, returning to their home country is not an option. This could be because they lack the financial resources to do so, or they may still fear what they initially fled, such as the political crisis in Colombia and Venezuela, rife violence in Haiti, or threats from criminal groups in Ecuador.
 

While people are still trying to reach the United States, tightening migration policies have meant that more are considering staying in Mexico. With the suspension of the United States’ process for applying for asylum at the southern border, the CBP One application, many people are now stuck in limbo in Mexico, unable to cross the border.

People fleeing conflict in the Americas are not necessarily always looking to reach the United States.
 

Our teams are seeing a decrease in the number of people who are travelling the Central American migration route. This change is pronounced, and our teams are reducing our medical activities as a result. We have seen more people in need of mental health care, however, especially in Mexico, likely reflecting people’s feelings of hopelessness over new restrictive policies.

As more people are being deported or deciding to return to their home country, we are seeing them make the opposite journey along the route, moving north to south. This does not mean that south to north migration has all-together ceased. Migration patterns are constantly changing.
 

Yes, this migration route is one of the most dangerous in the world. People risk being trafficked, robbed, raped, exploited, and tortured by organised crime groups and gangs that operate along the route. Women travelling alone or with children are more likely to suffer these dangers. In one example from many across the region, criminal groups in the Darien gap, the perilous stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama, routinely sexually assault women, sometimes in front of their families.  

We know from our work with migrants around the globe that restrictive migration policies only serve to make migration more dangerous. We fear that the new policies implemented by the US and other governments in the region will force people into more precarious situations.
 

The absence of safe avenues for migration makes migration unsafe. With the new restrictive policies put in place in early 2025, including the termination of the programme through which people can apply for asylum in the US, migrants are now left in a state of legal and humanitarian limbo. Our teams are seeing people in Mexico who are distressed and panicked about their future.

The right to seek asylum should be respected, and migrants should not be criminalised.

MSF remains committed to adapting our activities along the Central American migration route; we continue to monitor developments in the region.