U.S. to start returning asylum seekers to Mexico on Friday

People in silhouette are seen in front of the U.S. and Mexico border fence at Friendship Park in Tijuana, Mexico, January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government will return the first group of migrants seeking asylum in the United States to the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Friday, U.S. and Mexican officials said, marking the start of a major policy shift by the Trump administration.

The policy dubbed the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and first announced on Dec. 20 will return non-Mexican migrants who cross the U.S. southern border back to wait in Mexico while their asylum requests are processed in U.S. immigration courts.