Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Migrants were offered a free bus ride out of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where some had waited months for their U.S. asylum claims to be processed.

They were dropped off in Monterrey.

And they were left to fend for themselves. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

2/ One migrant, Zavala, said she was told by the Mexican government that she would find shelter and a job in Monterrey.

But the bus driver who transported her from Nuevo Laredo had bad news.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do.” bit.ly/2MUqpiG

3/ Another migrant said both U.S. and Mexican immigration officials told her she would be given shelter and a job in Mexico while she and her 10-year-old daughter wait for their turn in immigration court.

But, she said, “it was all lies.” bit.ly/2MUqpiG

4/ This is all part of the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program, which is carried out by the Trump administration in partnership with the Mexican government. It requires migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases play out in U.S. immigration court.

5/ More than 20,000 asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico since the program was launched in January. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

6/ About 3,000 migrants had been sent back as of the beginning of August to Tamaulipas State according to @AP, ranked as a “do not travel” zone by the U.S. State Department because so many people get robbed, kidnapped or murdered there. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 7/ Despite the dangers of waiting in Mexico, some migrants are sticking it out — they are afraid to return to their home countries.

Others that are waiting simply wanted a better economic opportunity in the U.S. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 8/ Several migrants interviewed by the Tribune were unaware that they would have to demonstrate persecution in their home countries and a fear to return home in order to win asylum — wanting a better economic opportunity won’t cut it. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 9/ One migrant said he wanted a “job opportunity” and a good education for his daughter, Ashli. He said the only thing he was afraid of was poverty, and that’s why he’s waiting things out. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 10/ But not everyone has chosen to wait in Mexico for their asylum cases to play out. Many migrants are opting to go back to their home countries. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 11/ Of the migrants in Monterrey who are opting to stay, many are taking shelter in Casa Indi, which began as a shelter for the poor and downtrodden — now, it’s filled with migrants. bit.ly/2MUqpiG

@AP 12/12 For many migrants, going home isn’t an option. Zavala said the Salvadoran MS-13 gang killed her husband three months ago, and it’s too dangerous for her to return.

If she loses her asylum case in the U.S., she says she’ll stay in Mexico. bit.ly/2MUqpiG