The US and Mexico have prioritized processing asylum applications at Matamoros camp, in Tamaulipas state, due to the difficult humanitarian conditions there, according to the United Nations. MSF provides comprehensive medical services to hundreds of families who have settled in tents in Matamoros since June 2019. The start of the registration process is a first step for the US in meeting its obligations under domestic and international law. However, there are still thousands of asylum seekers who remain trapped in harm’s way in Mexican border cities and urgently need to be registered.
Some 25,000 asylum seekers have active cases under the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy, instituted by the Trump administration. A complex web of other harmful migration policies remain in place and contribute to the greater vulnerability of people on the move. As an urgent priority, MSF is calling on the US to immediately rescind the order issued under Title 42 that allows for the deportation of asylum seekers without a hearing on spurious public health grounds.