Mexico Migrant Families 11-17-19 AP.jpeg

In this Oct. 10, 2019 photo, migrants wait for U.S. authorities to reopen a legal port of entry between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas, after the bridge was closed briefly by U.S. authorities during a protest by migrants in Matamoros. Mexican gangs have adapted quickly to the new reality of masses of vulnerable migrants parking in the heart of their fiefdom, experts say, treating the travelers, often families with young children, like ATMs, ramping up kidnapping, extortion, and illegal crossings to extract money and fuel their empires. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

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