This video was originally published on Vice in May 2020 and is being repurposed now by Refinery29.
Soon after President Biden took office, he began to unwind the Trump Administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocol” - or the Remain in Mexico policy - which had forced vulnerable asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases were processed, trapping them in dangerous living conditions without adequate medical services. But in December 2021, the Biden Administration was sued by the states of Missouri and Texas, causing his administration to reinstate the policy and send asylum seekers back to Mexico.
Weeks before the COVID-19 outbreak in North America, VICE's Paola Ramos traveled to what was, at the time, the largest refugee camp on the U.S.-Mexico border in Matamoros, Mexico that had sprung up in the wake of Trump's “Migrant Protection Protocol” policy. At its peak, the camp held almost 2000 migrants, a majority of which were women and children. In its early days, with the absence of governmental aid, migrants relied on a network of NGOs and volunteers to provide services in the camp.
Although the Matamoros camp and its inhabitants have since been dispersed elsewhere, this story sheds light on what reinstating “MPP” could mean for asylum seekers today. In this piece, we meet Cuban doctor Dairon Elisondo Rodriguez, a fellow asylee, who treats patients while he waits for his own asylum hearing, and follow group of mothers hoping to cross the border to bring their medically high-risk children to safety.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/
RELATED CONTENT
Inside The Women Only Villages Of Kenya
https://youtu.be/4lo9WLDUWeQ
The Banning Of Egg Freezing In Asia
https://youtu.be/QxuofwWAPno
Inside LulaRoe: Why Women Left The MLM
https://youtu.be/BwhPqG9qB3g
SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
Follow Somos on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29somos/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/
