Tensions erupt at migrant shelter on U.S.-Mexico border

Reuters - Tensions were high at a temporary migrant shelter just south of the U.S.-Mexico border in Piedras Negras on Wednesday (February 13) with migrants saying they were not allowed to leave the shelter to buy food and other items in town. Angry migrants jostled fences and threw at least one table and several chairs towards police. The temporary shelter, just south of Eagle Pass, Texas, was set up earlier this month to house some 2,000 mostly Central American migrants who have come to the border crossing as they seek entry to the United States, many on asylum claims. Demonstrations erupted here on Tuesday (February 12) night as tensions simmered. Mexico's Vanguardia newspaper reported Tuesday's unrest erupted after a migrant accused police of stealing money from him after they escorted him to an ATM. By morning, the situation had calmed down and migrants began lining up to be allowed into town to buy food and other necessities. But migrants told Reuters they waited more than five hours and were not allowed to leave leading to fresh clashes with police. Police on the scene declined to comment.