NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 2, 2019 - - Honduran asylum seekers line up to board one of four Chiapas-bound buses in a parking lot at an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 2, 2019. When the buses finally arrived in Nuevo Laredo at about 1 a.m. Friday, nearly 200 migrants rushed to line up. Many were smiling, relieved. One woman exclaimed: ÒThank God we can go!Ó Migrants were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Many migrants on the border are heading home

Many asylum seekers decide to board buses and head south after giving up on the “Remain in Mexico” program.

Asylum seekers wait Friday at an immigration checkpoint in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to board a bus bound for Chiapas state in southern Mexico. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - Maria Salazar, from Honduras, sits with her daughter Isabella Salazar, 2, and close to 200 other asylum seekers in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Honduran migrant Maria Salazar and daughter Isabella, 2, wait Thursday with nearly 200 other asylum seekers in a Nuevo Laredo parking lot after being returned to Mexico by the U.S.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 2, 2019 - - Kevin Marquez, left, and his son Kevin David Marquez, from Honduras, still wear masks to avoid sickness after being dropped off with other asylum seekers to a parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 2, 2019. The pair had spent several days at a detention facility after presenting themselves to authorities in the U.S. Migrants, like the MarquezÕ were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Kevin Marquez and son Kevin David Marquez, from Honduras, wear masks to prevent sickness Friday after being dropped off in a Nuevo Laredo parking lot with other asylum seekers. The two had spent several days at a detention facility after presenting themselves to U.S. authorities and requesting asylum. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 2, 2019 - - A weary child and her father join fellow Honduran asylum seekers who board one of four Chiapas-bound buses in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 2, 2019. When the buses finally arrived in Nuevo Laredo at about 1 a.m. Friday, nearly 200 migrants rushed to line up. Many were smiling, relieved. One woman exclaimed: ÒThank God we can go!Ó Migrants were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) ATTENTION EDITOR: THE FATHER DIDNÕT WANT TO GIVE THEIR NAMES BUT SAID HE WAS THE FATHER AND THAT THEY WERE FROM HONDURAS.

Asylum seekers board a Chiapas-bound bus after struggling without basic necessities for days at the Nuevo Laredo border checkpoint parking lot. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - A child sleeps on pizza boxes for a mattress while joining other asylum seekers who camp out in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A child sleeps on pizza boxes for a mattress Thursday while camping in a parking lot with other weary asylum seekers.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - Jose Antonio Mancia Hernandez, from Honduras, watches over his friendÕs daughter, Zoe Josibel, 3, in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jose Antonio Mancia Hernandez, from Honduras, watches over a friend’s 3-year-old daughter at their temporary home in the border parking lot.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - Asylum seekers keep an eye out for the arrival of four Chiapas-bound buses in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 1, 2019. They were lit by an ambulance that was treating a sick child. When the buses finally arrived in Nuevo Laredo at about 1 a.m. Friday, nearly 200 migrants rushed to line up. Many were smiling, relieved. One woman exclaimed: ÒThank God we can go!Ó Migrants were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Asylum seekers released by the U.S. into cartel-heavy Nuevo Laredo wait Thursday in the glow of the lights of an ambulance treating a sick child.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - Around 200 asylum seeker sit in the parking lot of an immigration check-point waiting for buses to take them to Chiapas and Monterrey in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Some 200 asylum seekers huddle in the parking lot of a Nuevo Laredo immigration checkpoint waiting for buses to Chiapas and Monterrey. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - A man delivers toothbrushes to asylum seekers in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Volunteers would bring them water, food and supplies. Many headed back to their home country. Many were bused to Chiapas or Monterrey, Mexico. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A man delivers toothbrushes Thursday to migrants camping in a Nuevo Laredo parking lot. Volunteers also brought water, food and supplies, but many were giving up and waiting for transportation to leave.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 2, 2019 - - A Mexican immigration official calls names of migrants to be placed on a list to travel by bus to Chiapas in the parking lot of an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 2, 2019. When the buses finally arrived in Nuevo Laredo at about 1 a.m. Friday, nearly 200 migrants rushed to line up. Many were smiling, relieved. One woman exclaimed: ÒThank God we can go!Ó Migrants were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A Mexican official calls migrants’ names for a list of those traveling by bus to Chiapas. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 2, 2019 - - Migrants take one last look at America before continuing to walk across International Bridge Two into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, from Laredo, Texas, on August 2, 2019. They requested asylum in the United States but were returned to Mexico days later to await their court proceedings. Many migrants released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week have decided to head home. The controversial "remain in Mexico" plan is becoming one of the Trump administrationÕs most successful strategies for keeping migrants from gaining entry into the U.S. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Migrants take a last look at the U.S. on Friday on the bridge from Laredo, Texas, to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. They were sent to the high-crime city as part of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” plan for asylum seekers. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO, CA - AUGUST 1, 2019 - - Asylum seeker Diego Castillo, 17, from Ecuador, looks out over the Rio Grand River and towards Laredo, Texas, from an immigration check-point in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on August 1, 2019. Migrants who were released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week stayed and slept in the parking lot of the immigration check-point for days struggling to find food, water and other necessities. Many headed back to their home country. Many were bused to Chiapas or Monterrey, Mexico. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Diego Castillo, 17, from Ecuador, looks back at the Rio Grande River toward Laredo, Texas, on Thursday from an immigration checkpoint in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)