US: Online asylum appointments halted at 1 Texas crossing because of Mexican city’s safety woes

By VALERIE GONZALEZ and JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Biden administration says the reason it halted online asylum appointments at the international crossing in Laredo, Texas was because of the “security situation” across the border in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. U.S. Customs Border Protection said in an email Tuesday to The Associated Press that the government also took into account other unspecified “operational factors, including relatively low demand for appointments for that location.” The government released the statement a day after AP reported the change, which took effect June 3 at the Laredo port of entry. Humanitarian groups in Laredo said they recently warned the administration about migrants facing extortion threats in Nuevo Laredo.