MSF is responding to the needs of people affected by the ever-changing immigration policies of the U.S. and Mexico on the border. People fleeing violence and poverty, most from countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, but also from other parts of the world, are taking shelter in Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the U.S. Some 2,000 people—men, women and children—are living in tents by the international bridge. They receive few services and are largely reliant on volunteers that bring food, clean water and clothing. At the bridge encampment, and at shelters in the area, MSF is focussed on providing mental health and social services. The people at the border are waiting for their asylum hearings across the bridge, and most wait for months; some have recently received court dates a year from now. Matamoros, like other Mexican cities along the border, is affected by gang violence and is not a safe place for migrants and asylum seekers. When they arrive in these cities with nowhere to go and no protection, they become prey for organized crime. Many have been victims of kidnapping, extortion and sexual violence.