While Washington focuses on the wall, Mexico fears its own border crisis

As President Trump battles with Congress over a giant wall to block immigrants, a lesser-known policy could soon take effect that might have a far deeper impact along the U.S.-Mexican border.

In a major change, the Trump administration plans to start requiring migrants to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases crawl through American courts, a process that is likely to take months or years. Border cities like Tijuana could become, in effect, giant waiting rooms for the U.S. immigration system.

Mexico is not prepared to provide housing and other services for what could be thousands of migrants, according to officials and migrant advocates.

“Disaster is the only word that comes to me,” said Pat Murphy, a Catholic priest who runs Casa del Migrante, a large shelter in Tijuana. “We are already living in such a tenuous situation now.”