: A Shelter in Juárez Prepares for Another Wave of Migrants as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Is Reinstated #WorldNEWS About a dozen young kids zigzag across the floors of the basketball court in

A Shelter in Juárez Prepares for Another Wave of Migrants as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Is Reinstated #WorldNEWS
About a dozen young kids zigzag across the floors of the basketball court in the Kiki Romero gymnasium in Ciudad Juárez, the sound of their laughter and squeaking sneakers reverberating off the baby-blue walls—nearly the same color as the pullover sweatshirts many of the older men in the gym are wearing. Some of the kids gather around the basketball hoop, taking turns to see if one of them can score.
But the spirited scene is misleading. This isnt basketball practice, and the mens matching sweatshirts arent uniforms; theyre the clothes U. S. immigration officials have given them to wear while in custody before returning them to Mexico. The young basketball players are living in this gymnasium with their parents, who have come mostly from Central America. They have no where else to go.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=true]
Its here—between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, just a stones throw south of the border—that the latest iteration of the so-called Remain in Mexico policy is playing out. The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), as the policy is known officially, was designed by the Trump Administration and requires migrants who request asylum in the U. S. to wait in Mexico for their court proceedings. The Biden Administration, despite attempting to end the policy in June, was compelled by court order to reinstate it. On Dec. 6, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) relaunched the policy in El Paso and Juárez, and are expected to begin implementing it in other parts of the U. S. -Mexico border soon. Earlier this year, the city of Juárez repurposed the gym into a shelter for migrants attempting to enter the United States.
Read more: Why the Biden Administration Is Relaunching Trumps Controversial Remain in Mexico Immigration Policy
So far it has mostly been single adult men that U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has placed in the newest iteration of MPP, according to researchers at Human Rights First, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, who observed in person the relaunch of the policy. The MPP roll out process has so far not led to overcrowding at Kiki Romero, and with the help of donated goods, shelter coordinators appear to currently be able to meet many of the needs of the people staying there.
But, human rights advocates say, its too early to put their guards down. They worry about what will happen when international organizations leave, when the latest wave of COVID-19 arrives in force at the border, or when the publics attention moves on from MPP.
A need for shelter
At the Kiki Romero shelter, the basketball court is mostly taken up by dozens of rows of bunk beds.