Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Migrants Assess Options as Mexico Buses Them From US Border

Victoria Macchi

   VOA Immigration Reporter Aline Barros contributed to this report from
   Washington.

   NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO --Off to the side of the Puente #1, the bridge
   that connects pedestrians, drivers and cyclists from the Texas city of
   Laredo to the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, dozens of migrants and
   asylum-seekers sit on what was built as a parking lot for the customs
   office.

   The concrete radiated after hours of 42-degreeCelsius
   (108-degreeFahrenheit) heat from the sun.

   They hadn't been able to shower in three days, several said. U.S.
   Customs and Border Protection (CBP) often apprehended them within an
   hour of crossing the river, held them for two to three days, then
   transported them back to Mexico.

   Now a month after the start of the Trump administration's Migration
   Protection Protocols (MPP) in Nuevo Laredo, the Mexican government is
   busing hundreds of returned migrants to faraway Chiapas, in what is
   described as a thinly disguised deportation program.

   Bus departures

   VOA witnessed two nights of bus departures from a location adjacent to
   a pedestrian bridge where CBP dropped off migrants to await their
   immigration hearings in the U.S. from outside the country.

   The first, around 12:30 a.m. on August 7, consisted of eight full
   buses, transporting 350 to 400 migrants; the next night, another three
   buses departed from the same location, carrying approximately 120
   people, largely families with children underage10.

     Migrants returned to Mexico under MPP have been camping beneath
     puente 1 (intl bridge) in Nuevo Laredo for days or longer. As of a
     couple hours ago, buses came to pick them up. Migrants say they are
     being forced to leave. All of the buses appear to be headed to
     Chiapas. [1]pic.twitter.com/ZpMBYlMyL1
     -- Ramón Taylor (@ramonctaylor) [2]August 7, 2019

   The majority of migrants VOA spoke with ahead of their 2,100-kilometer
   (1,300-mile)journey were from Honduras and had crossed the Rio Grande
   into the United States in the first days of August.

   Some of the migrants who spoke to VOA said they felt their hearings
   stood no chance and would self-deport to their respective countries.
   Others planned to utilize temporary work permits in southern Mexico
   while they considered their next moves.

   MPP, also known as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, began in January 2019
   in other border cities. It expanded in earnest in March, and then June,
   as Mexico scrambled to respond to the U.S. threat of tariffs if the
   number of unauthorized border crossings did not decrease.

   In a statement to VOA, a CBP spokesperson said MPP allows the U.S. "to
   more effectively assist legitimate asylum-seekers and individuals
   fleeing persecution while migrants with false or meritless claims no
   longer have that incentive to make the journey."

   The Trump administration said it created the program to alleviate
   overcrowding in U.S. detention facilities by making migrants await
   immigration court dates in Mexico.

   The United States has returned more than 30,000 migrants to Mexico
   under the policy, CBP acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said Thursday.

   According to an [3]analysis by Human Rights First, CBP has returned an
   average of 450 migrants per day to Mexico in early August, more than
   double the rate of returns in early June.

   More than 3,000 migrants have been returned to Nuevo Laredo during
   MPP's first month operating in the city, the independent, U.S.-based
   human rights organization reported.

   That number includes children and adultswho have been apprehended
   crossing the Rio Grande without authorization by U.S. Border Patrol
   agents, as well as people who presented themselves at ports of entry to
   formally request asylum.

References

   1. https://t.co/ZpMBYlMyL1
   2. https://twitter.com/ramonctaylor/status/1158975383842127872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/Delivered-to-Danger-August-2019%20.pdf

.