ACUNIA, MEXICO--Over 400 Cubans are camping in a park on the Mexico-U.S. border in Acunia, Mexico. There is a wait list, with over 500 names on it, but only three or four get called each day to cross the bridge to Del Rio to apply for asylum. Some have been waiting months and the camp may be closed soon and those waiting moved to some other location in Acunia, Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

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Cuban migrants forced back to Mexico by U.S.

More than 400 Cubans are camping in a park near the U.S. border in Acuña, Mexico. There is an unofficial wait list to apply for asylum, and only a few people get called each day to cross the bridge to Del Rio, Texas. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A line forms daily at the immigration office on the Mexico side of the border where those wishing to seek asylum in the United States are put on a waiting list. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A line forms daily at an office on the Mexico side of the border in Juarez, where those wishing to seek asylum in the United States put their names on a waiting list. Both U.S. and Mexican officials have denied responsibility for the lists, which exist in several cities along the border. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--Cubans waiting in line to have their names added to the list of those wanting to apply for asylum in the United States. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

Cubans wait in line to have their names added to the unofficial list of those wanting to apply for asylum in the United States. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are stuck in Juarez, Mexico, either waiting to claim asylum in the United States or for a hearing with a U.S. immigration judge across the border. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

More than 400 Cubans are camping in a park in Acuña, Mexico. Some have been waiting months for their names to come up on an unofficial list of those seeking to make asylum claims with U.S. officials at the port of entry, but officials recently told migrants the camp will soon be closed. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A Cuban man holds up his number after his name was finally called to cross the border to apply for asylum in the U.S. He will most likely be returned to Mexico to await his asylum hearing, which could take more than six months. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A Cuban man holds up his number after his name is called to cross the international bridge connecting Juarez, Mexico, with El Paso and to apply for asylum in the United States. Officials there will most likely return him to Mexico to await his first hearing with a U.S. immigration judge, something that could take another six months. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

ACUNIA, MEXICO--A woman looks at her phone as she and other camp as they wait their turn to ask for asylum. Over 400 Cubans are camping in a park on the Mexico-U.S. border in Acunia, Mexico. There is a wait list, with over 500 names on it, but only three or four get called each day to cross the bridge to Del Rio to apply for asylum. Some have been waiting months (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A woman looks at her phone in an impromptu refugee camp in Mexico where she and others wait their turn to apply for asylum in the United States, sometimes for months. More than 400 Cubans are camping in a park near the U.S. border in Acuña, Mexico. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A Cuban restaurant has opened in Juarez to cater to the hundred of Cubans now living there as they wait their chance for asylum in the U.S. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

Cristina Ibarra, a Mexican woman, opened a Cuban restaurant in Juarez named Little Havana to cater to the thousands of Cubans now living in the border city. The Cubans are waiting months for a chance to claim asylum in the United States or for court hearings before U.S. immigration judges. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A 27-year-old Cuban man from Bayamo, Cuba is in despair after spending weeks in detention in the United States and then getting shipped back to Juarez, Mexico to wait for his court date possible more than six months in the future. "The coyote told us he'd get us into the U.S.," he said "but it wasn't correct. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A 24-year-old man from Bayamo, Cuba, said he spent weeks in detention in the United States before being sent back to Juarez, Mexico, to wait for a court date with a U.S. immigration judge. “The coyote told us he’d get us into the U.S., but it wasn’t correct,” he said. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A Cuban man tried to organize the few pieces of paper he got back after he was released from detention the the U.S. He was among the first group of Cubans to be returned to Mexico to wait for their asylum cased to be heard in immigration court int El Paso, Texas. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A Cuban man tries to organize the few pieces of paper he got back after he was released from detention in the United States. He was among the first group of Cubans to be returned to Mexico to wait for their asylum cases to be heard in immigration court in El Paso as part of the Trump administration program known as Remain in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--(PLEASE DO NOT LIGHTEN HIS FACE- HE DOESN'T WANT HIS FACE USED, SO KEEP SHADOW) JUAREZ, MEXICO--JULY 3, 2019--A Cuban man sits in the stairwell to a hotel in Juarez, Mexico after he was released from immigration detention and returned to Mexico. He are a group of Cuban men are sharing a room in a cheap hotel in Juarez, Mexico until they decide their next step. It could be six months or more before their next immigration hearing. Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)Thousands of Cubans have left their home and are waiting in Juarez, Mexico to come to the United States to seek asylum. Recently the U.S. have been sending the Cubans back to wait in Mexico. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

A Cuban man sits in the stairwell of a hotel in Juarez, Mexico, after he was released from immigration detention in the U.S. and returned to Mexico. He is among a group of Cuban men who are sharing a room in the hotel while they await immigration hearings. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)