The main room in the El Buen Samaritano shelter in Ciudad Juarez, a city along the US-Mexico border, is quiet for most of the day.
Rows of bunk beds stretch from wall to wall, each separated by thin curtains or hanging sheets. The mismatched mattresses are occupied by men, women, and children – all migrants who intended to reach the United States but haven’t completed their journey.
It’s the mid-morning of a cold Tuesday, most are resting or scrolling through their phones, the only noises in the room come from sporadic coughs, two children playing, and the subtle sounds from a video playing on a phone. The scene feels like a loop.
“Kids, guys, it’s almost lunchtime,” she yells as she gets up and puts on a coat. They’re indoors but the walls are penetrated by the winter cold.
“Everyone up, let’s get ready,” she says.
Her husband, her three kids, and five other relatives, all start getting ready enthusiastically. Soon after, a shelter worker announces the food is ready to be served.
“I’m hungry, finally!” her 9-year-old son Abel Jesus, says.
Polanco and the other nine members of her family are among thousands of asylum-seekers who were stopped in their tracks by US President Donald Trump’s January 20 decision to cancel all CBP One appointments for people seeking asylum from violence or persecution.
Their appointment had been set for January 21. Now, they are stranded in the shelter in Juarez with no money and full of uncertainty. From here, they can see across the border into the US – but they have no idea where to go now.
‘We laugh to keep from crying’
After lining up, the family – whose members range in age from 5 to 40 – head to the shelter’s dining hall. They sit together and occupy most of a communal table.
As soon as they sit, they seem to put all their problems aside and focus on one another, on talking and enjoying the warm meal. The day’s menu: chicken soup and a small dish of rice and beans with canned tuna.
“The most delicious soup does exist,” 9-year-old Abel Jesus says with his mouth half-full and soup dripping from the edge of his mouth.
“I heard appointments until January 30 will be reinstated,” Luis Alfonso Polanco, 30, says of a rumor that later proved to be untrue. “That’s what a friend in the US told me.”
On the other side of the table, his partner Yelitza Olivero talks to two other migrants from Ecuador and shares the rumor about the app with them.
At times, the family’s border chatter turns into laughter and jokes about one another.
“We try to make jokes about each other, it’s a way of distracting from the news we received on January 20, it was very sad,” Lucymar’s cousin, 18-year-old Estiven Castillo, says.
“The point is to support one another, so one makes a joke, and we laugh, and we try to make a nice moment, otherwise, if we just focus on our situation, we’d all get depressed, so we laugh to keep from crying,” Lucymar tells CNN.
Lucymar and her family say they fled the Venezuelan state of Lara due to political persecution from authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
“We were part of an opposing political party,” she says. “My family, my parents, everyone there, and the government knew that, and we’d constantly be threatened.”
“I was set to receive a house from a program run by the government but after they found out who I voted for in prior elections, they took that benefit away from me,” she says holding back tears.
Prior to leaving Venezuela, both Lucymar and her brother, Luis Alfonso, worked in the beauty industry. “I was a barber in Venezuela, but things were so bad that at times I cut hair in exchange for food,” Luis Alfonso says.
Lucymar’s husband, Jesus Caruci, 40, worked as a mechanic, and Yelitza, who’s married to Luis Alfonso, worked in sales. The rest of the traveling family, all young adults or children, were in school before leaving the country.
Their journey began a little over two years ago. They spent a few months in neighboring Colombia to later trek through several countries. They crossed the treacherous Darien Gap safely – but were kidnapped by a cartel after arriving in southern Mexico.
“When we entered Tapachula, they were waiting for us,” Luis Alfonso recalls.
“They tricked us, they forced us into a vehicle and said they were taking us to a safe place (…) but they took us to a farm and held us there for six days.”
Luis Alfonso says the criminal group only released after they paid $900 – all that they were carrying.
“Ever since we’ve survived with some money our family has sent us or that we’ve had to borrow,” he says.
fter sobremesa, the family goes to the shelter’s patio to get some sun and continue to chat. They gather several plastic chairs that are spread out through the uneven and cracked shelter pavement and form a circle. The little kids decide to run around and play in an outdoor playset.
“I understand Trump,” says 19-year-old Beyker Sosa as the family stays quiet.
“There have been crimes done by illegal migrants, I understand the measures, they are meant to keep the country safe,” he adds. “But we aren’t criminals, I wish he (Trump) would have compassion, we are humans just like him.”
CNN asked the family if they ever considered entering the US illegally and in chorus, they all said “no.”
“We never considered entering illegally, we never want to hide from authorities, we wanted to be able to walk free,” Beyker says. “It’s very sad to have done things right, the legal way, only to have Trump shut the app down, but I guess God doesn’t want us there.”
The family says their smartphones and conversation are their only form of entertainment in the shelter. “We can’t even go out, we were warned that migrants are targeted in this area, so we just stay in, especially after already being kidnapped,” Lucymar says.
Still, with kids to entertain, snacks are a must. Luis Alfonso and Estiven go to a store around the corner to buy cookies and soda.
They rejoin the conversation and start passing around Oreos and a plastic cup with orange soda.
“Trump should clean up Venezuela, we are good people, but he should up take out the bad ones, especially those in the government, take them out, Trump, and then take our country and call it Venezuela of America,” Beyker jokes as he refers to Trump’s bid to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Nearly two hours later, the family is back in the main room of the shelter with each settling into their beds again.
“This is all we do, we are either in our beds, on our phones, we wonder what could’ve been,” Lucymar says. (CNN)
/10] Anti-immigrant marchers walk through the streets of Johannesburg on the day of an unofficial deadline set by anti-immigrant groups for all undocumented migrants to leave, in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 30. REUTERS/Oupa Nkosi Purchase Licensing Rights
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Thousands of people marched Tuesday in cities across South Africa to demand the departure of undocumented foreign nationals after a weeks-long campaign that has sent thousands fleeing and claimed four lives.
Protesters gesture towards people they believe to be undocumented foreign nationals while marching during a demonstration by the “March and March” and Operation Dudula movements marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Johannesburg, on June 30, 2026. Thousands of demonstrators massed across South African cities on June 30, 2026, venting anger at undocumented foreign nationals as police mounted a major operation to head off looting and xenophobic violence that has claimed four lives. The nationwide protests cap weeks of demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, which set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without residency papers to leave. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Police were out in force for the nationwide protests which capped a campaign of demonstrations led by citizen-led vigilante groups that set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without papers to leave.
There were isolated reports of looting, stone-throwing and confrontation, including near Johannesburg where security forces escorted a handful of foreign nationals away from a mob brandishing large sticks.
Crowds of demonstrators moved through the centre of the city, South Africa’s financial capital, where most shops were shuttered, workers stayed home, and transport hubs were quiet.
Protesters, some wearing traditional Zulu attire, chant slogans as they gather during a demonstration by the “March and March” and Operation Dudula movements marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Johannesburg, on June 30, 2026. South African police deployed to head off unrest and protests on June 30, 2026, the unofficial deadline set by anti-immigrant groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave that has already pushed thousands to flee. Officers were out in force to prevent violence and looting by the xenophobic groups, while hundreds of foreign nationals took refuge in several cities, urgently seeking help to leave. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
They waved flags and placards, watched by police in bulletproof jackets and riot helmets.
In the southeastern city of Durban, the Zulu heartland, protesters turned out in traditional warrior attire, carrying spears, whips and shields and some draped in leopard skins.
Protesters throw rocks at a building while marching with others during a demonstration by the “March and March” and Operation Dudula movements marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Johannesburg, on June 30, 2026. Thousands of demonstrators massed across South African cities on June 30, 2026, venting anger at undocumented foreign nationals as police mounted a major operation to head off looting and xenophobic violence that has claimed four lives. The nationwide protests cap weeks of demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, which set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without residency papers to leave. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)A resident waves a South African flag in support as protesters march during a demonstration by the “March and March” and Operation Dudula movements marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Johannesburg, on June 30, 2026. Thousands of demonstrators massed across South African cities on June 30, 2026, venting anger at undocumented foreign nationals as police mounted a major operation to head off looting and xenophobic violence that has claimed four lives. The nationwide protests cap weeks of demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, which set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without residency papers to leave. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Demonstrator Brightness Gumbi, 48, said she was frustrated at not being able to afford to rent a premises for her business while foreign nationals were able to run shops.
Members of the Zulu regiment known as the Amabutho chant slogans as they march during a demonstration by the “March and March” movement marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Durban, on June 30, 2026. Thousands of demonstrators massed across South African cities on June 30, 2026, venting anger at undocumented foreign nationals as police mounted a major operation to head off looting and xenophobic violence that has claimed four lives. The nationwide protests cap weeks of demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, which set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without residency papers to leave. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)
“The illegal foreigners manage to pay it because they sell drugs to our people,” she told AFP. “I hope through these demonstrations our president will hear our cries and enforce stricter laws.”
Protesters gather outside a building they believe is occupied by undocumented foreign nationals during a demonstration by the “March and March” and Operation Dudula movements marking an unofficial deadline set by citizen-led groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Johannesburg, on June 30, 2026. Thousands of demonstrators massed across South African cities on June 30, 2026, venting anger at undocumented foreign nationals as police mounted a major operation to head off looting and xenophobic violence that has claimed four lives. The nationwide protests cap weeks of demonstrations called by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, which set an unofficial June 30 deadline for foreigners without residency papers to leave. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
In tourist magnet Cape Town, only about 100 people joined a march through the city centre, passing a counterprotest against Afrophobia and xenophobia.
– ‘Mass deportation’-
One of the continent’s wealthiest countries, South Africa is a magnet for migrant labour while grappling with an unemployment rate above 30 percent, high crime and a breakdown in services in many areas.
Groups mobilising against illegal immigrants say they take jobs and services from locals, claims that analysts say is unfairly scapegoating foreign nationals for government failures.
“South Africans have been replaced by illegal foreigners, increasing unemployment,” the leader of the anti-immigrant March and March group, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, told a crowd in Durban.
“We want mass deportation,” she said. “For the next six months we want the government to get rid of the people who have not left.”
At least two Mozambicans, an Ethiopian and a Malawian have been killed in the latest outburst of anti-immigrant violence, according to police.
Several African governments — including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique — have organised voluntary repatriation flights and buses for their citizens.
South Africa has seen previous flare-up of violence targeting undocumented foreign nationals, but this is the first time governments have simultaneously organised repatriations.
More than 25,000 people had been processed for departure in recent weeks, authorities said Monday.
– ‘I’m scared’ –
As the protests unfolded in several cities, hundreds of migrants — mostly Malawians and Zimbabweans — gathered in Cape Town, Johannesburg and other centres, waiting for assistance to go home.
Some said their landlords had evicted them or their employers had fired them, fearing fines from officials or attacks by vigilante groups.
“The people in South Africa, they don’t want us here. I’m scared,” said a 23-year-old Zimbabwean woman, who asked to remain anonymous, where around 2,000 people were waiting for buses.
Only a few dozen Malawians remained at a site in Durban from where several thousand had been bused out in recent days, either taken back to their country or to a processing site near the border with Zimbabwe.
“I thought I could stay on but neighbours warned us last night,” 32-year-old Adam John told AFP. “I felt that it is better to try and get home while I still can.”
– ‘Weaponised’ –
Concerned about a repeat of unrest five years ago when around 350 people were killed in days of looting and riots, the government put in place a massive security deployment for Tuesday’s mobilisation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced stepped-up government plans to combat illegal immigration and called on traditional leaders to use their “standing to calm tensions”.
Coming ahead of local government elections in November, the anti-migrant push has been “politically weaponised”, labour analyst Dale McKinley said.
Previous anti-foreigner riots in South Africa have proved deadly. In 2008, violence left 62 people dead.
The following is the text of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, as read out by a senior US official to reporters on Wednesday:
“The United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran have jointly agreed in good faith on (a date yet to be determined, the official said), on the following:
“Paragraph 1 – The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.
“Paragraph 2 – The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.
“Paragraph 3 – The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent.
“Paragraph 4 – Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.
“Paragraph 5 – Upon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles, and de-mining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states, in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Paragraph 6 – The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least USD 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days. All required licenses, waivers, and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America.
“Paragraph 7 – The United States of America undertakes to terminate all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions, IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral US sanctions, primary and secondary, in an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America acknowledge the critical importance of the sanctions termination issue above mentioned, and express their intentions to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.
“Paragraph 8 – The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in Paragraph 7, with the minimum methodology to be down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledge the critical importance of the nuclear issues above mentioned, and express their intention to immediately address these issues in the negotiation in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.
“Paragraph 9 – Pending the final deal, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program, and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions, and will not deploy additional forces in the region.
“Paragraph 10 – The United States of America undertakes that immediately upon the signing of this MOU, and until the termination of sanctions, US Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.
“Paragraph 11 – The United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the implementation of this MOU. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will mutually agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds during the negotiations. Such funds, whether retained in the original account or transferred, shall be made fully usable for payment to any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America undertakes to issue all necessary licenses and authorizations accordingly.
“Paragraph 12 – The United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran agree that an executive mechanism will be established to monitor the successful implementation of this MOU and the future compliance of the final deal.
“Paragraph 13 – After signing this MOU and subject to the beginning of the implementation of Paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11 of this MOU, and the continuing implementation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will start negotiations regarding the final deal exclusively on the other paragraphs.
“Paragraph 14 – The final deal will be endorsed by a binding UNSC resolution.”
Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
The accusation comes after US Central Command said its forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats in southern Iran that were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it fired at US aircraft trying to enter its airspace.
“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire… has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that Tehran “will not leave any evil unanswered and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation,” without elaborating.
Tuesday’s statement came as a top Iranian delegation was in Qatar for talks as part of a “diplomatic process” aimed at ending the war with the United States, which broke out on February 28
