The U.S./Mexico borders have experienced significant changes since 2016, including the practice of metering, the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR), the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP), a ban on asylum seekers who traveled through Mexico, and culminating in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), colloquially referred to as Remain in Mexico. The policy requires individuals and families arriving at the border seeking protection from harm in their home countries to submit their request for asylum and then wait in Mexico as their cases are processed. Remain in Mexico is a significant departure from the pre-2018 process through which immigrants who presented no safety or flight risks were apprehended and released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody into the U.S. pending their immigration court proceedings. (For more on U.S. immigration policies see American Immigration Council, 2020)
The Remain in Mexico policy cages asylum seekers on the border without the option to move forward in the U.S. or return to the life-threatening conditions from which they fled. Subsequently, a refugee tent camp was created and continues to grow in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, one of seven Mexican cities affected by MPP. Individuals and families, many with young children, live in flimsy tents with no running water, electricity or effective protection from the elements or the rampant Gulf cartel. There is little governance, law enforcement, or access to health care in the camp, making asylum seekers vulnerable to human trafficking (including illegal entry to the U.S., kidnapping and extortion, and sex trade), violent crime; infectious disease; and mental health issues associated with chronic stress and trauma. Residents of the tent camp (in the thousands) depend solely on volunteers and humanitarian aid groups for basic living supplies, food, and water.
Counselors Without Borders (CWB) – Matamoros, under the auspices of Counselors Without Borders, is comprised of licensed mental health professionals living on or near Matamoros. Our mission is to train and support mental health professionals in the provision of psychoeducation, social support, and when needed, direct mental health interventions to residents of the refugee tent camp. Licensed professionals working with CWB-Matamoros are trained in migration stressors, contextual stressors, risk management, ethics and best practices, sociopolitical context, and culturally competent brief interventions. The chapter of CWB-Matamoros also provides a framework for well-intentioned mental health professionals from outside our geographical area who come to volunteer their services and aren’t familiar with our context.
The mission of CWB-Matamoros aligns with our parent organization. We are committed to the provision of culturally responsive humanitarian counseling in post-disaster emergency situations where this support is not otherwise being provided (Counselors Without Borders, n.d.). We work closely with all support organizations on the ground in the Matamoros tent camps and maintain working relationships with humanitarian aid groups providing other services, i.e., basic living supplies, food, water, and medical intervention.
Counselors Without Borders – Matamoros is a neutral organization and does not take part in Mexican political events or civil conflicts. The sole purpose of CWB – Matamoros is to provide culturally responsive counseling and psychosocial support to asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants living in the Matamoros tent camp.
