Hundreds of migrants in southern Mexico scramble for asylum applications

Migrants, mostly Haitians, wait for asylum processing by Mexico's Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) outside of a soccer stadium, in Tapachula Mexico September 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Torres

TAPACHULA (Reuters) - Around 1,000 migrants flocked to a sports stadium in southern Mexico on Tuesday to claim appointments for requesting asylum in the country as the national refugee agency grapples with surging demand that has overwhelmed capacity.

Thousands of other migrants have amassed in the city of Tapachula bordering Guatemala, often waiting months for responses to their asylum applications, a limbo that many migrants without jobs or money find intolerable.