This article from Reuters talks about the large numbers of asylum seekers in Mexico. The Customs and border agency has recently sped up reassignments of 750 of its officers to man the Mexico borders. The trump administration plans on expanding its Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy immediately. This policy sends asylum seekers by the hundreds back to Mexico at large rates per day. Since March 26, 2019, MPP has returned approximately 370 migrants back to Mexico since its start in late January.
Trump administration believes the expansion of the policy will fix the current system, which they claim encourages illegal immigration. Last week Trump threatened to close the border if the numbers of asylum seekers increased. The article notes that closing the border would cause a lot of disruption with legal border crossing and trade. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador decided Mexico would help regulate the flow of central Americans passing through Mexico to the states to find the cause of the situation. Since then the U. S Department cut aid for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador on accusations made by Trump. Mexico did not respond.
Shelters in Mexico’s border cities Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez are at capacity as the number of asylum seekers continues to increase. All seekers returned to Mexico on MPP have struggled to find attorneys. San Diego immigration Judge Scott Simpson said of one out of the four families that came to see him had an attorney (Espina, Torbati). Some attorneys
have denied taking on cases if families were located in Mexico’s border cities.
attorneys have denied taking on cases if families were located in Mexico’s border cities.
This article provides credible sources, different sides of the story, and a somewhat unbiased tone.
Torbati, Yeganeh, and Jose Espina. “Trump Administration Steps up Effort to Return Asylum Seekers to…” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 2 Apr. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/trump-administration-steps-up-effort-to-return-asylum-seekers-to-mexico-idUSKCN1RD2N0.