The Human Cost of 'Remain in Mexico'

First implemented by the Trump administration in January 2019, the Migrant Protection Protocols, a US policy more commonly called "Remain in Mexico," means that asylum seekers that arrive at US ports of entry at the southern border are sent back to Mexico to await their asylum hearings. Far from protecting migrants, however, the policy sends vulnerable men, women and children to some of the most dangerous places in the country—Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Reynosa, for example, all located in Tamaulipas state, which the US State Department gives a Level 4 security rating, the same rating it gives Syria and Afghanistan. When they arrive there, migrants become easy prey for the gangs that control much of these areas—they become victims of kidnapping, extortion, and more. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is present in these and other areas to provide medical and mental health care to migrants. "We see a lot of mental health problems. That is clear," says Sergio Martin, MSF's head of mission in Mexico. "Violence is provoking a lot of mental health problems in people." When they set out to seek safety in the US, most migrants don't know what kinds of violence awaits them on the route north, he says, nor do they know they'll be sent to wait in extremely dangerous places in Mexico, where they are likely to be targeted again. Most people, says Martin, "probably don't expect to be treated like that in the US." Make sure you don’t miss weekly video updates and ongoing series about our work in crisis zones across the world. Subscribe to our channel here: https://goo.gl/BtzdsR Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health care. Learn more at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/BtzdsR Like us on Facebook:   / msf.english   Follow us on Instagram:   / doctorswithoutborders   Follow us on Twitter:   / msf_usa   Connect with us on LinkedIn:   / m-decins-sans-fronti-res-msf-   Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org...