The Trump administration will begin to force asylum seekers at a California port of entry to turn around at the border and wait in Mexico while their paperwork is processed in US courts, an official said.
The new policy, which will be announced on Friday, will be enforced at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing — one of the nation’s busiest, a US official told The Associated Press.
The “Remain in Mexico” initiative is likely to face legal challenges and outcry from immigration advocacy groups.
A plan for the new policy emerged during bilateral talks in Mexico City over the last few days.
The plan would require the US to bus asylum seekers back and forth to the border for court hearings in downtown San Diego.
Many of the asylum seekers are Central American and would have to seek temporary refuge at Mexican border towns.