Dr. Christine Eady MannVerified account

They would be required to travel back to the US, to the exact spot they started from, to have their asylum claims heard. If they traveled to the wrong place, they would be denied. Through all this, they have no set place to stay. No relatives. No money.

Remember: these are not Mexican citizens. They are from El Salvador and other countries in Central America. They had sold everything to seek asylum in the US. Their sponsors & families are in the US. We are sending them to a country they do not know to await their court date.

So, not only do they have to figure out how to survive in a county they do not know where they have no money, shelter, food, or job, they have to figure out how to get back to Laredo for their asylum claims.

Contrast that with the migrants who had been coming to the shelter. They were released to families and sponsors in the US to await their hearings. They are safe and with people they know. They are with people who can help them get to their hearings.

Another twist: their hearings, the ones for the migrants staying with relatives and sponsors in the US, are conducted at locations close to where they are staying. They do not have to travel back to Laredo.