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Just about every day, migrants walk across the Gateway to the Americas pedestrian bridge from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, to approach U.S. customs officers, saying they are afraid to return to their home countries. That act starts the legal process for them to apply for asylum. In October 2017, a couple from India had their first encounter with a customs officer at the bridge. In the last three months of 2017, about 4,000 people each month came to border stations in Laredo asking for protection.

Border Patrol

Kirsten Luce for The Marshall Project
Closing Argument
This Ain’t Just Texas: More States Want Power to Wage ‘War’ on Migrants
Several states are sending troops to the Southern border, even as the legal battle over immigration enforcement rages on.
Texas Tactical Border Force guardsmen dressed in uniforms sit on a bus at the airport in El Paso, Texas.
Three men in National Guard uniforms place razor wire alongside a river.
Closing Argument January 20
Texas vs. the USA: Inside the Immigration Showdown
The Southern border is now an open battle between Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden Administration.
By
Analysis December 22, 2022
Some of Our Best Work of 2022
From coverage of prison violence and abuses in a juvenile lockup to investigations by our new Cleveland team, our reporters told stories that made a difference.
By
March 2022 - Del Rio, Texas..Migrants from Venezuela cross the Rio Grande into Del Rio on March 23. They were approached by National Guard from North Dakota and told to walk towards the Border Patrol who were gathering migrants under the bridge for transport.
Feature June 16, 2022
“No Place for A Child”
In cells built for adults, one-third are child migrants. Border authorities have resisted improving conditions for minors in crowded, freezing facilities.
By and
Melany Barba walks over the Cordova International Bridge, which is otherwise known as the Bridge of the Americas on January 8, 2019.
Feature January 30, 2020
The Cheer Team Caught Between Two Worlds
For these Texas high schoolers who live in Mexico, the border wall debate is more about daily logistics than politics.
Photos by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz
Words by Nina Strochlic
Commentary January 14, 2019
What Becoming an American Means Now
The Marshall Project's new film series takes you inside the U.S. immigration system through personal, poignant testimonials.
By
Feature January 14, 2019
We Are Witnesses: Becoming An American
A portrait of the U.S. immigration system in 12 short films.
By The Marshall Project
Central American asylum seekers, including a Honduran girl, 2, and her mother, are taken into custody near the U.S.-Mexico border in June in McAllen, Texas.
Q&A June 19, 2018
What You Should Know About Family Separations
Yes, it’s Trump policy. No, it’s not the law.
By
Commentary March 4, 2015
Lost in Detention
Where suspects, by the thousands, disappear.
By Alison Parker
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