Even after he was kidnapped and robbed outside the makeshift migrant camp, Luis Osorto decided his only chance at U.S. asylum was to stay put along the border just inside Mexico, but promised himself he wouldn’t leave the tent, even for the essentials
MATAMOROS, Mexico - Even after he was kidnapped and robbed outside the makeshift migrant camp where he had slept for two weeks, Luis Osorto decided his only chance for eventual asylum in the United States was to stay put along the border just inside Mexico.
After what is commonly known as an “express kidnapping” last month by men waiting in a van for him outside a convenience store where he was collecting a $100 transfer from relatives, Osorto promised himself he would only leave the camp to cross the bridge to Texas for his December court date with U.S. immigration authorities.MPP, sometimes called Remain in Mexico, is among various overlapping U.S. policies aimed at severely reducing asylum claims.
But reports of kidnapping and extortion have increased since the program was expanded to Matamoros and nearby Nuevo Laredo in crime-wracked Tamaulipas state. Matamoros Mayor Mario Lopez described the city as calmer than neighboring towns, because of a truce between two rival drug cartels. Elsewhere in the state, gangs regularly fight pitched battles for turf.
Reuters was unable to independently corroborate the migrants’ stories. Osorto said he did not report the attack on him to police. At night, couples take turns keeping watch over their children, fearful criminals will snatch them if they both sleep.
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