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US Expands 'Remain in Mexico' to Dangerous Part of Border

Associated Press

   HOUSTON - The U.S. government on Friday expanded its policy requiring
   asylum-seekers to wait outside the country to one of Mexico's most
   dangerous cities, where thousands of people are already camped, some
   for several months.

   The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it would implement
   its Migrant Protection Protocols in Brownsville, Texas, across the
   border from Matamoros, Mexico. DHS says it anticipates the first
   asylum-seekers will be sent back to Mexico starting Friday.

   Under the so-called Remain in Mexico policy, asylum-seekers are briefly
   processed and given a date to return for an immigration court hearing
   before being sent back across the southern border. Since January, the
   policy has been implemented at several border cities including San
   Diego and El Paso, Texas.

   The U.S. is trying to curtail the large flow of Central American
   migrants passing through Mexico to seek asylum under American law. The
   Trump administration has pressured Mexico to crack down on migrants,
   threatening earlier this year to impose crippling tariffs until both
   sides agreed on new measures targeting migration.

   Matamoros

   Matamoros is at the eastern edge of the U.S.-Mexico border in
   Tamaulipas state, where organized crime gangs are dominant and the U.S.
   government warns citizens not to visit due to violence and kidnappings.

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