Border Patrol officials in the San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico area are preparing for migrants seeking asylum to be sent there under a new U.S. immigration program.
San Luis Rio Colorado is one of a few sites along the border selected in June for the Migrant Protection Protocols program, which is also known as “Remain in Mexico.”
Central Americans who have requested asylum are being returned mostly in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros, according to the Mexican government and news reports. San Luis Rio Colorado is still waiting for the program.
The mayor and the director of a migrant shelter in the city say they don’t have the capacity for thousands of migrants to be released there.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan visited the border wall in San Luis earlier this month and said preparations are under way.
“Right now, we’re partnering with the government of Mexico to prepare for that eventuality," McAleenan told KAWC on Aug. 8. "They’ve already increased their resources in their inmigración department here working at the border and we’re providing support to the Mexican government and through international organizations so that they can be ready to provide appropriate shelter and capacity.”
McAleenan added that no date for when the program would begin in San Luis Rio Colorado has been announced.
