World
2020.05.20 02:15 GMT+8

Migrants along U.S. - Mexico border await asylum claims amid COVID-19

Updated 2020.05.20 02:15 GMT+8

The world's attention in recent months has been laser focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, ​yet ​other global problems haven't gone away. 

The migration crisis along the U.S. southern border has only heightened while migrants are stranded in Mexico due to President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy. 

Previously, migrants seeking asylum from within the U.S. saw ​about 20% of claims approved. But now, ​the approval rate has dropped to under one percent, leaving many stranded between a border that is closed to them, and a home country they fear to return.

One family says the migrant shelter they are residing in Mexico is not safe. "When you come back into Mexico after your interview (asylum claim interview with authorities), the kidnappers are there waiting for you. They kidnapped us, and we were held for four days, and you don't know if you're going to get out alive. You think you're going to die," says Erica Gomez, a Salvadoran Migrant.

CGTN's Alasdair Baverstock speaks with a family waiting for their asylum decision. 

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