‘We have to keep fighting’: Asylum seekers at US-Mexico border

11/02/2020

Source: Al Jazeera

Since the introduction of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – also known as “Remain in Mexico” – in 2019, asylum seekers seeking to enter the US via the US-Mexico border must wait in Mexico for the duration of their US immigration court proceedings.

As a result of this policy, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers found themselves sleeping on the streets near the border. Gradually, a camp of approximately 3,000 to 4,000 people began to form on the banks of the River Grande that separates the northern Mexican town of Matamoros from the Texan town of Brownsville.

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U.S. Expels Migrant Children From Other Countries to Mexico

10/30/2020

Source: The New York Times

U.S. border authorities have been expelling migrant children from other countries into Mexico, violating a diplomatic agreement with Mexico and testing the limits of immigration and child welfare laws.

The expulsions, laid out in a sharply critical internal email from a senior Border Patrol official, have taken place under an aggressive border closure policy the Trump administration has said is necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading into the United States. But they conflict with the terms upon which the Mexican government agreed to help implement the order, which were that only Mexican children and others who had adult supervision could be pushed back into Mexico after attempting to cross the border.

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Migrants quickly expelled by Trump try repeatedly to cross

10/28/2020

Source: The Washington Post

SAN DIEGO — Edgar Alexis Lopez looks well-rested in photos he took before crossing the border illegally in mountains east of San Diego, flashing a wide grin in clean jeans.

Six hours later, the 24-year-old Mexican construction worker was out of water, exhausted after climbing over the border wall and convinced he would faint.

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Experts project increase in migrants at US-Mexico border as pandemic devastates Latin America

10/21/2020

Source: CNN

(CNN) Immigration experts are expecting an increase in the number of migrants journeying to the US-Mexico border in the coming months following the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Latin America.

As countries put lock downs in place earlier this year, the number of Central Americans migrating north dropped. From March to April, arrests on the US-Mexico border plummeted from 30,389 to just over 16,000, before gradually ticking up again, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.

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Mexico asks U.S. for answers about alleged migrant detention abuse

09/16/2020

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico said on Wednesday said it had formally requested a report from U.S. authorities regarding alleged negligent practices in U.S. immigration detention centers, citing accusations of sexual abuse and unauthorized hysterectomies.

The request come after a complaint by a whistleblower nurse alleging that detainees in a Georgia immigration detention facility had improperly received hysterectomies and other gynecological procedures.

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Former U.S. Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne reflects on AMLO’s meeting with Trump and Latin America

09/04/2020

Source: Al Día

Earl Anthony Wayne was attracted to the foreign service from a young age when he became fascinated with other countries, particularly how their culture and history was different from his own.

He began to ponder the tough questions, like how countries fall into certain styles of government. What steps led to the adoption of a democracy, communism or a dictatorship?

The California native took his desire to learn about all the corners of the world and how they can work together to his years in higher education.

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U.S. and Mexico moving closer on need to develop Central America: Mexico

January 7, 2020 – Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has sought to enlist U.S. support for his vision of stemming migration by creating more jobs and opportunities in Central America in the face of skepticism from his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump.

In a speech to diplomats in Mexico City, Ebrard said when Lopez Obrador first put forward the idea in 2018, it looked “almost impossible” given Trump’s tough stance on migrants. “Today the positions are getting closer regarding this development initiative,” Ebrard said.

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Check out our 2019 Migration to and through Mexico Mid-Year Report for more information on migration trends

Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky

Migrants stuck in lawless limbo within sight of America

11/17/19 – AP News

By Maria Verza

The gangsters trawling Nuevo Laredo know just what they’re looking for: men and women missing their shoelaces.

Those are migrants who made it to the United States to ask for asylum, only to be taken into custody and stripped of their laces — to keep them from hurting themselves. And then they were thrust into danger, sent back to the lawless border state of Tamaulipas.

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Tents, stench, smoke: Health risks are gripping migrant camp

11/14/19 – AP News

By Nomaan Merchant

A smoke-filled stench fills a refugee camp just a short walk from the U.S.-Mexico border, rising from ever-burning fires and piles of human waste. Parents and children live in a sea of tents and tarps, some patched together with garbage bags. Others sleep outside in temperatures that recently dropped to freezing.

Justina, an asylum seeker who fled political persecution in Nicaragua, is struggling to keep her 8-month-old daughter healthy inside the damaged tent they share. The baby, Samantha, was diagnosed with pneumonia and recently released from a hospital with a dwindling supply of antibiotics.

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New Migrant Shelter In Mexico Comes With Threats Of Family Separation

11/01/19 – Texas Public Radio

By Dan Katz and Reynaldo Leaños Jr.

Officials in Matamoros, Mexico, are threatening to separate asylum seekers from their children.
When plans were first announced to open a city-run shelter, asylum seekers and U.S. aid workers voiced concerns. If too far away from the International Bridge — where immigration hearings take place — asylum seekers could face transportation and safety issues. The new shelter is located at a gymnasium at Alberca Chavez, about a 30 minute walk from the bridge.

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