Cortez told me he has been waiting three and a half months to cross the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had yet to schedule his interview. There was a long line of migrants ahead of him, and, at this point, he was just hoping to get into the U.S. before November 2024.

When I pointed toward America and asked who they wanted to be president, Cortez answered quickly. “I want Biden to win,” he said.

Betancourt agreed. “If it’s Trump, it doesn’t matter how much I work or want to work,” he said. “They won’t let me in.” //

the number of illegal migrants soared, with roughly 2 million people entering the United States each year starting in 2021—the highest levels since the U.S. Border Patrol was created in 1924.