Biden's pledges could spur more migration. But in a pandemic, the border is unprepared

FILE PHOTO: Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. queue for food at an encampment of more than 2,000 migrants, as local authorities prepare to respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Matamoros, Mexico March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

LOS ANGELES/MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - After spending eight months of 2019 in a makeshift tent camp in the dangerous Mexican border city of Matamoros, Israel Martinez abandoned his hopes of seeking asylum in the United States.

Beaten down by the cold and unsanitary conditions in the encampment, Martinez accepted a free flight back to his homeland of Honduras in January 2020.