Matamoros migrant camp dismantled

Already dismantled camp in Matamoros for asylum seekers 3:18

(CNN) -

A camp in Matamoros, Mexico, where hundreds of migrants remained in deplorable conditions subject to a Trump-era policy that required them to stay in Mexico until the date of their hearing in an immigration court in the United States, was dismantled, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security told CNN.

In recent years, migrants camped in Matamoros waiting to enter the United States.

Immigrant advocates called the situation a humanitarian crisis just yards from the southern US border that formed as a result of the harsh policies of the Trump administration.

President Joe Biden ended the Trump-era policy, informally known as "staying in Mexico," and began the process of allowing entry to migrants who had been subject to it.

The Matamoros camp is one of many places where migrants have been forced to stay and has become an emblem of the "stay in Mexico" policy.

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The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that the Biden administration, in partnership with international organizations, completed the registration of people staying at the camp.

"We are no longer registering people at the Matamoros camp and no one who arrives at the camp will have access to this tiered program through their physical presence there," said a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.

"A small number of people who remained in the camp have been relocated to other locations identified by our international organization partners that provide greater protection than the informal camp."

View of tents belonging to migrants, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, Mexico, near the border with the United States, on November 1, 2019.

Efforts to admit migrants subject to the "stay in Mexico" policy continue, but so far, the United States has processed more than 700 people at the Brownsville port of entry, according to the spokesperson.

The Biden administration estimates that some 25,000 migrants still have active cases under the program.

Migrants must take the covid-19 test before entering the United States.

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The "stay in Mexico" policy, which took effect in January 2019, was an unprecedented departure from previous protocols, which allowed custom-made migrants while they waited for their immigration hearings in the United States.

The Trump administration set up makeshift courtrooms in Brownsville, just across the street from Matamoros, for migrants to attend their court hearings, resulting in many staying at the camp while awaiting their court date.

Democratic lawmakers launched investigations into the policy and visited the camp, condemning the Trump administration for expelling migrants, including families and children, back to deteriorating conditions at the site.

In some cases, the situation on the ground caused children to separate from their families to try to enter the United States.

Migrant camp