Mexico's migrant shelters, expected to house U.S. asylum seekers, are reportedly already at capacity

Migrant shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, are overflowing and unable to take on an influx of U.S. asylum seekers who are expected to be sent into Mexico after reaching the U.S. border.

Mexico's foreign ministry spokesman Roberto Velasco said the first group of migrants affected by the Trump administration's Migrant Protection Protocols would be sent to request asylum Friday, per Reuters. The Trump administration announced the policy on Dec. 20, which requires non-Mexican migrants who enter the U.S. through its southern border to wait in Mexico while immigration requests are processed.

Asylum applicants have historically been allowed to stay in the U.S. while waiting for their hearing, but that process can take several years due to a backlog of more than 800,000 cases. Advocates in Mexico say the policy could stretch facilities on border towns too thin. "Shelters are at capacity and we can't receive migrants that are being deported or [Mexican] nationals that are passing through the city," Jose Maria Garcia, who runs a Tijuana shelter, told Reuters.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Migrants attempting to seek asylum may be barred from the U.S. for up to a year before seeing a judge. The policy does not apply to unaccompanied minors, and those fearing persecution in Mexico may be given a modified asylum screening interview, reports Vox.