The situation for migrants in Mexico's northern border cities is sharply deteriorating as expulsions under Title 42 continue and hundreds of people arrive from the south each day seeking safety in the United States of America (US). The response from local authorities in the cities of Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, Ciudad Acuña, Reynosa and Matamoros are inadequate, leaving thousands of people without access to basic services or safe shelter.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are overwhelmed by the growing needs of people arriving. MSF’s medical teams have treated many people for symptoms related to poor living conditions such as respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal diseases, and skin, kidney, and gynaecological infections. MSF’s mental health teams also care for people who are experiencing symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, grief, and depression resulting from their experiences in their countries and along their migration route.
In Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña, migrant shelters and reception centres are closed, and people do not have access to basic shelter, such as tents.
In Nuevo Laredo more than 3,000 people remain in shelters and makeshift camps, living in unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
"Most are families with small children sleeping on the floor, exposed to the rain and high temperatures,” says Pavel Goytia, head of MSF's medical team in Nuevo Laredo. “The 10 shelters in the city are at maximum capacity and hundreds of people continue to arrive. Many of the shelters are makeshift spaces that lack basic services, mattresses, food, drinking water, protection from the elements, toilets, showers, and proper waste management."
A similar situation is unfolding in Reynosa. The last remaining inhabitants of the Plaza de la Republica, a makeshift camp in the city, were evicted at the beginning of May.
"The number of migrants in the city has increased in recent weeks and there is a severe lack of housing, food, and health services to assist them,” says Anayeli Flores, MSF's humanitarian affairs officer in Reynosa. “There is no space in the shelters and many people are living on the streets enduring very high temperatures.”
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