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.
![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)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/30b3e15/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2F0a%2F9257e3a04c98ba960287e8296437%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-001.jpg)
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)
![Waiting in Nuevo Laredo](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c657e0e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fec%2F8a%2F3f0570bc4311bfa3ed71b101c81c%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-012.jpg)
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)
![Dropped off at a checkpoint](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/71b1824/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1d%2F68%2Fdddc3f2146a08b45d2dc9f4581ad%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-021.jpg)
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)
![Heading south towards Chiapas](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/78ec85d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff7%2F13%2F156010774f27badd7c59544c8851%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-009.jpg)
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)
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![Camping in Nuevo Laredo](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/045a594/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F80%2F6f%2F41a4c1de47178d0f4380b4df50a7%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-019.jpg)
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)
![Keeping watch](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fb98de6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2F7e%2Fa0439b5342869a2f1b7ce08f0784%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-013.jpg)
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)
![Waiting for buses to Chiapas](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c1855c5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fca%2F29%2Fb2ec4c33432c81ecce3b841f5077%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-007.jpg)
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)
![Waiting for buses](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f0ba34a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fae%2F17%2F5ea4d7f64f4f946bb950fe46423f%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-014.jpg)
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)
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![New toothbrushes](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c5b6db5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6e%2Fe6%2Fad3d333a4dbe91a95aa060cd2fa4%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-016.jpg)
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 )
![Eager to head south](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5223f70/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2Fcc%2Fe20874c24f7692654b52e2c9dd4c%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-020.jpg)
A Mexican official calls migrants’ names for a list of those traveling by bus to Chiapas. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
![Looking back](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/214c846/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F01%2F31%2Fb3f269fc4f218ccac4689ecc80ab%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-024.jpg)
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)
![Looking out over the Rio Grande](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9704929/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F13%2F5d%2Fb47ab55947bd9029d5ae28c6c273%2Fla-photos-1staff-461200-na-0801-asylum-seekers-head-south-gem-017.jpg)
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)