The threat of a potential Trump presidency starting next year will cause an immediate surge at the southern border, with more migrants seeking to enter the country now before he shuts down many points of entry, analysts say.

A group of nearly 3,000 migrants from different Latin American countries is currently making its way to the border, hoping to secure asylum in America well before a changing of the guard. 

Director of Hispanic Engagement at the American Principles Project, Alfonso Aguilar, tells the Sun that it will be no surprise if migrant numbers spike between now and the November elections.

“Migrants know that if Trump wins, he will shut down the border on day one and end the asylum abuse that the Biden administration has facilitated,” he said. 

“Under the Biden rules, migrants can claim fear of persecution in their home country at the border with little or no evidence and they will be let in the country,” he added.

Members of the group trudging towards the border fear that a second Trump administration will halt legal asylum requests and appointments at the border, making it extremely difficult to enter the country, the Associated Press reported.

“We are not delinquents. We are hard-working people who have left our country to get ahead in life, because in our homeland we are suffering from many needs,” a member of the caravan, Oswaldo Reyna, said.

The number of illegal crossings at the southern border have steadily declined over the past five months after President Biden issued a crackdown on all border crossings outside of official points of entry, CBS reported.

“The numbers were at a three-year low in June, and they have been under 2,000 a day in recent weeks,” Associate Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, Julia Gelatt, tells the Sun.

A graduate Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Daniel DiMartino, tells the Sun that points of entry could also be swarmed between November and January if the election goes President Trump’s way, since there would be confirmed expectations of policy changes. 

Trump will “likely push for mass use of expedited removal for all border crossers” if he reaches office, Mr. DiMartino said. 

This supposed crackdown on foreign nationals seeking to enter America may not discriminate between legal and illegal immigrants.

“I also expect a lot of changes with respect to legal immigration that will be very negative to economic growth, and will restrict work visas and work authorization for legal temporary workers and repeal of Temporary Protected Status for nationals of many nations,” he added.

Ms. Gelatt noted that many of the members of the caravan are coming to America for a variety of reasons, and do not always contribute to a concern for public safety.

“On average, crime rates among foreign-born populations in the United States are lower than native-born,” she said. “That’s not to say that there haven’t been horrible cases of immigrants who have come across the border and committed crime.”

Mr. DiMartino added that a potential bottleneck of legal immigration will not have the effect that many Republicans hope for.

“These changes, if implemented, would not result in higher wages for native workers as intended, but in less investment, tax revenue, and an expanded illegal immigrant population,” he said.