By NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) - A humanitarian crisis is worsening at a refugee camp a short walk from the U.S.-Mexico border.

As many as 2,000 immigrants are waiting for U.S. court dates as medical and sanitary conditions deteriorate at the camp across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the Mexican city of Matamoros.

A smoke-filled stench lingers from ever-burning fires and piles of human waste. Drinking water is scarce. Families live in a sea of tents and tarps, some patched together with trash bags.

They’re among those sent south of the border to wait and pursue their asylum cases under the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.

The conditions show the health risks associated with the policy and how nonprofits are struggling to provide basic services without more support from the U.S. or Mexican governments.

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