A report from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, shows that many Central Americans who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum are giving up and going back to their home countries.
A reporter from the Texas Tribune asked how many of the Central American migrants at the migrant processing facility in Mexico were giving up on their asylum applications – nearly all of them indicated they were throwing in the towel.
The Tribune attributed the reversals from migrants to the policy of the Trump administration to make asylum-seekers stay in Mexico while their application was being processed.
One migrant told the Tribune that conditions in Mexico were actually more dangerous than those he left in Honduras because he didn't know anyone in Mexico who would help him.
"We're afraid and we want to go home, even though we're scared to return to our country," said Cristian Urquiza. "If Honduras is dangerous, Mexico is worse. It's more dangerous."
But not all were giving up.
Those escaping the turmoil in Venezuela and Cuba were among the migrants who were not giving up.
"Many of us have lost everything," said Cuban migrant Geovanys Garcia.
"If we returned to Cuba, we could run into trouble. Lose everything. We could end up in prison. We could get fined. Our only option is to stay and not to go back," he explained.
"If we left for Cuba, how could we ever get back here?" Garcia asked.
On Friday, the president announced that he had reached an agreement with the government of Guatemala to help keep asylum-seekers in that country instead of taking the dangerous trek through Mexico towards the U.S. border.
Here's the video report:
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