The report Asylum Processing and Waitlists at the US-Mexico border (December 2018) provides a snapshot of the asylum processing system at the U.S.-Mexico border, with particular attention to asylum seekers waiting in Mexico. It compiles fieldwork carried out in eight cities along the U.S.-Mexico border in November 2018. It draws on in-person and phone interviews with government officials, law enforcement officers, representatives from civil society organizations, journalists, and members of the public on both sides of the border. The report also relies on observations carried out at ports of entry and neighboring areas, and draws from government and legal documents, and news articles to detail current asylum processing dynamics.

This report is the result of a collaboration among the Strauss Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California San Diego Center for US-Mexican studies and the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute (Gabriella Sanchez).