Two days after Democrats routed Republicans in the US midterm elections, the American Embassy in El Salvador posted a stern reminder on social media.
“U.S. immigration laws remain in effect,” the Spanish-language post read. “The midterm election results do not represent changes to current immigration policies.”
Nevertheless, the Democratic “Blue Wave” appears to have encouraged some migrants to undertake a risky journey to the US. The hope for an easier passage to the United States was especially palpable this week among a pair of migrant caravans bound from Honduras and El Salvador.
Some told CNN that with the imminent Democratic majority in Congress, they are betting it will be easier to reach the United States. All asked to remain anonymous due to the dangers associated with embarking on the journey to the border.
“That’s the hope,” said Beatriz M., who is traveling with her husband and her 9- and 11-year-old children from El Salvador, “that we can make it to where we’re going.” Beatriz and dozens of other Salvadorans set out on Friday from the Western Bus Terminal in San Salvador for Tecún Umán, on the Guatemala-Mexico border.
“This is not the usual flow of passengers,” a bus company employee told CNN, asking not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Upon arriving in Tecún Umán, the group intends to join up with other migrants, among them the caravan that left Honduras on Election Day and is already making its way through Guatemala.
Southwest border encounters fell sharply after US President Donald Trump took office in 2025, tightening controls at the border with Mexico and initiating a wave of deportations to halt an “invasion” of migrants into the United States.
Some in the caravans gathering this week hope that after the elections, migrants might receive better treatment at the hands of US immigration officials. Many have made the journey before, including Santiago, a Honduran man who told CNN he had been deported twice from the US .
“We hope that with this change everything will improve for us,” Santiago said of the US midterm results.
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Juan, a Honduran who lived in the US for 26 years and was deported on September 15, joined the caravan in Honduras after learning about it through social media.
“After I was deported in September, I tried to enter again twice, but they sent me back from Mexico,” said Juan. “I found out about this caravan online and I’ll try one more time, to see if I can get into the United States, because my wife and two children are there.”
Not all migrants share optimism that the election results will ensure a warmer welcome at the US border. At a border crossing in Guatemala, a man named Aníbal told CNN that whichever party is in charge in the US, entering illegally often ends in deportation.
“Nothing has changed,” Aníbal said. “Democrats and Republicans are the same, so if they capture us tomorrow, we’ll just head there again.”
“Let’s see who gets tired first,” he added. “Them or us.”
For numerous migrants who spoke to CNN, the risk of deportation is outweighed by the crush of poverty in their native countries, and the painful distance from relatives who managed to stay in the US .
“I have my family over there, and here there’s no work,” said Carlos E., a Salvadoran who left via bus on Friday for the Guatemala-Mexico border. “I’ve been unemployed for four months, and that’s what motivated me to want to hit the road.”
José Q. is also seeking to reunite with his family. “I haven’t seen them in two years,” he told CNN just before boarding a bus. He said he’d just finished a video call with his loved ones to let them know he was about to begin the journey and that he hopes to hug them soon.
“The truth is there’s work here, but it’s not enough to get by,” Mauricio S., a young farmer, told CNN.
When he found out a group was leaving from El Salvador, he decided to join, hopeful — like everyone else making the trip — that he will have a chance to better his lot and help his family.
“The situation in the United States hasn’t been easy, but the idea is to try our luck,” Mauricio said.
CNN’s Max Saltman contributed reporting.
