A surge of migrants arriving at the Texas-Mexico border has pushed the country’s immigration system to the breaking point as new policies aimed at both undocumented immigrants and legal asylum seekers have contributed to a humanitarian crisis. The Texas Tribune is maintaining its in-depth reporting on this national issue with support from the Pulitzer Center.More in this series

The Texas Tribune visited the Senda de Vida shelter in Reynosa, a Mexican border city across the Rio Grande from McAllen. Inside, we met migrants from around the world — from Central America to Africa to Russia — crowded into tents and waiting for their number to be called so they could cross the international bridge and ask U.S. officials for asylum.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Some migrants have been there for up to three months, and some have reported being kidnapped, robbed or shaken down by corrupt Mexican officials. Their stories underscore the deepening migrant crisis at the Texas-Mexico border.

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Jay Root is an award-winning journalist who reported for the Tribune from 2011 to 2020. He covered the dramatic collapse of Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign and went on to write an ebook...

Miguel Gutierrez Jr. was The Texas Tribune's inaugural photo editor. He oversaw our photography operation, thinking strategically about how to tell visually rich stories about Texas government and politics...