Migrants face danger before court in tents

Abel Oset was seized with panic. After an 11-country odyssey that began when he and his namesake son fled Cuba, and included a moment on U.S. soil, he was crossing back into America.

But he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay.

The two were going to plead their case in a court set up inside a tent in Laredo, Texas, beamed via video conference to a judge in another city — the latest attempt to clear a massive backlog of asylum cases.

They were among more than 100 migrants on Tuesday’s docket — although only 38 had arrived. So much depended on this hearing; Oset dreaded the very real possibility that he and his 22-year-old son would be sent back over the international bridge, back to Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas, and its cartels and violence.

Awaiting his hearing in the predawn hours, Oset lay on the floor of a migration building. He spoke of the criminals who stalk the bridge, picking off migrants. He and his son were targeted by kidnapseekers pers twice but had no money and were turned loose with warnings not to return.

“Those who arrive are being taken, one by one,” he said.

Some migrants awaiting hearings arrived at the bridge before sunset Monday from Monterrey, hundreds of miles from the border. Others left city hostels early to avoid moving at night.

At least 42,000 migrants have been forced back into Mexico after crossing the border, according to the U.S. government. Many of them say they fled violence or threats in their home countries and hope to get asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security has said it planned to spend $155 million to build and operate the tent courts but expects the costs to be less. But critics have denounced the proceedings because they are closed to the public and difficult for attorneys to access.

President Donald Trump’s top lieutenants on immigration and border enforcement toured the tent complex in Laredo on Tuesday, defending the “remain in Mexico” policy.

By routing migrants directly from official border crossings into the adjacent court complex, U.S. authorities can fulfill the obligation to give asylum access to the U.S. court system without giving them physical access to the United States.

During the tour, there were 15 immigrants in a processing room and two dozen in a room where migrants await a decision on their case.

Many migrants making court appearances complain of dangers they face as they are forced to wait in crime-ridden Nuevo Laredo. The U.S. government has warned Americans not to travel to the area, citing safety concerns.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan defended the “remain in Mexico” policy, calling it a reasonable alternative to separating and detaining families in the U.S.

“You are seeing a team effort across four agencies and two departments to run an expeditious lawful process so that families are staying together during their process so that they can wait in a non-detained setting for their hearing,” he said.

“We’re getting more integrity into the system to deter those who don’t have valid claims from making the journey,” McAleenan added.