This archive report was first published on 22 December 2019.
More than 1,000 migrants had been waiting for weeks in makeshift camps in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, for a chance to request asylum in the United States. However, as of last week, only about 700 remained, with the others giving up due to the near-freezing temperatures and the seemingly fruitless quest to be heard by US officials.
Local associations convinced several families to head to shelters or hotels when the mercury started to plummet, while others made their way across the river without any idea if they would succeed.
Some migrants opted to remain, fearing to lose their place on the murky wait list system they created to convince US border agents to take them in order of their arrival.
"They won't let us proceed unless we hand them our slips to show them we have indeed been waiting," said Rosa, who keeps up the list on a daily basis.
According to a survey led by several universities in northern Mexico, 60 percent of displaced people in camps wait their turn in tents, but more than a quarter are sleeping in the open air.
Many migrants say they are fleeing violence in their hometowns, with one man from Guerrero state explaining, "The cartels threatened us and took our land. At first, they asked us for money, but when we could no longer pay, they took our house. They gave us two weeks to get out."
By AFP
