{"id":672037,"date":"2019-01-27T09:11:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T16:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=672037"},"modified":"2019-01-28T09:51:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T16:51:02","slug":"as-mexico-agrees-to-accept-asylum-seekers-some-worry-for-their-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2019\/01\/as-mexico-agrees-to-accept-asylum-seekers-some-worry-for-their-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"As Mexico agrees to accept asylum seekers, some worry for their safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Immigrant

Reynaldo Leal \/ for the Texas Tribune<\/p>

Families from Guatemala and Honduras wait for their opportunity to apply for asylum at an international bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Mexican government announced on Friday it has reluctantly agreed to assist President Donald Trump\u2019s administration in implementing a policy under which some migrants who have applied for asylum in the United States will be returned to Mexico pending their hearings in American immigration courts.<\/p>\n

The program, which will begin in California at the San Ysidro border crossing and could expand to border crossings in Texas, was largely criticized by immigration attorneys and human rights groups, who said the policy could prevent immigrants from retaining attorneys and endanger their safety by forcing them to stay in violence-plagued Mexican border towns.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Mexican government has accepted more than 10,000 humanitarian visa applications from Central Americans, including some who are currently traveling as part of a caravan headed toward the United States. If granted, the visas would allow them to travel through the country and reach the U.S-Mexico border without the risk of being deported by Mexican immigration officials.<\/p>\n