Seeing how a batch of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump on the first day of his presidency effectively closed down the Mexican border for migrants headed to the United States, Ronald Alvarez had the sinking feeling that he and his family had just lost the race for salvation.

The US-Mexico border is effectively closed off to migrants seeking asylum in the United States within hours of President Donald Trump taking office, an extraordinary departure from previous protocols that has left many concerned migrants in limbo.

Naser Zazai, 29, had planned to reunite with his mother and brother in the United States this week after fleeing Afghanistan, where he says he was threatened and attacked because his brother had once worked for the U.