Some Mexican shelters see crowding south of the border as Biden's asylum ban takes hold
Some shelters south of the U.S. border are caring for many more migrants now that the Biden administration stopped considering most asylum requests
MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Some shelters south of the U.S. border are caring for many more migrants now that the Biden administration stopped stopped considering most asylum requests, while others have yet to see much of a change.
The impact appears uneven more than a week after the temporary suspension took effect. Shelters south of Texas and California have plenty of space, while as many as 500 deportations from Arizona each day are straining shelters in Mexico's Sonora state, their directors say.
“We’re having to turn people away because we can’t, we don’t have the room for all the people who need shelter,” said Joanna Williams, executive director of Kino Border Initiative, which can take in 100 people at a time.
About 120 are in San Juan Bosco shelter in Nogales, across the border from the Arizona city with the same name, up from about 40 before the policy change, according to its director, Juan Francisco Loureiro.
