More than 11,000 migrants waiting in northern Mexico amid border surge

While thousands of migrants enter the US illegally every day, more than 11,000 people continue to wait in shelters and camps on the Mexican side of the border, CNN has learned from community leaders. With Washington undecided on the future of US immigration policy, those waiting migrants and asylum seekers are still hoping to enter the US through legal pathways established by the Biden administration.

While thousands of migrants enter the US illegally every day, more than 11,000 people continue to wait in shelters and camps on the Mexican side of the border, CNN has learned from community leaders. With Washington divided on the future of US immigration policy, those waiting migrants and asylum seekers still hope to enter the US through legal pathways established by the Biden administration. In Tijuana, Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California, an estimated 3,800 migrants from countries like Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela are staying in shelters, according to municipal migration affairs director Enrique Lucero. In Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, Texas, another 3,273 migrants are waiting at Senda De Vida shelters, according to pastor Hector Silva, who runs the facilities. And in nearby Matamoros, Mexico, about 4,000 migrants are living in camps, shelters, and abandoned homes, says Glady Cañas who runs nonprofit Ayudandoles a Triunfar. The waiting migrants feel “desperate,” according to Cañas – but many have put trust in mechanisms like the CBP One app, which automates scheduling appointments to claim asylum with border patrol, she said. In recent weeks, US border cities have struggled under the weight of an unprecedented surge of people crossing into the US from Mexico. Federal authorities reported a seven-day average of more than 9,600 migrant encounters along the US southern border in December, CNN reported Friday. For comparison, the seven-day average reported on November 28 was about 6,800 encounters. According to Cañas, three migrants drowned in the Rio Grande in the Matamoros area December, but people continue to try to cross the river despite the lethal dangers. Migrants who choose not to wait for a legal pathway are often blinded by hope, boosted by video and voice messages they receive from migrants who have been processed by US immigration authorities and have been released into American communities, she said. “The migrants are only sharing the beauty, but they are not sharing the reality… that’s what worries me,” Cañas said.