Hundreds of migrants deported by the US – many of them women and children – have been left stranded in a public square in one of Mexico’s most dangerous cities where they are reportedly at the mercy of criminal gangs.

The migrants were deported by the United States under the Title 42 policy, which started during the Trump administration and is continuing under President Biden.

Many of the deportees are living in the city of Reynosa in the north-eastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas where they are falling foul of kidnapping gangs and violent cartels in the area, according to the humanitarian NGO Doctors without Borders (MSF).

The organisation also complained that migrants do not have basic supplies such as drinkable water and shelter or social and health support, not only in medicinal terms but also psychological support.

Marcos Tamariz, head of MSF for Mexico and Central America, told Real Press in an exclusive interview: “There are 430 people living on Republica Square in Reynosa and they were deported under Title 42, some of them have been deported multiple times.

“Reynosa is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and we have evidence and comments from people about the level of violence. They are victims and vulnerable, some said that people have been kidnapped or suddenly disappeared.”

He also criticised the US policy that was implemented in March 2020 and is continuing under the Biden administration, saying: “Due to the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an access limit for anyone seeking asylum in American territory.

Tamariz told Real Press: “It is a discriminatory politics because it is a manipulation of health arguments to regulate migration for political interests.”

Most of the migrants living in Reynosa are from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, the three countries called the ‘Northern Triangle of Central America’.

Jose Antonio Silva, coordinator of MSF in Reynosa, said in a press statement obtained by Real Press that “we see lot of families, especially women travelling alone with their children. They were immediately deported to a city that is extremely dangerous, abandoned on the streets, and they have to take care of themselves just to cover their basic needs”.

Tamariz explained that the migrants are escaping from different situations in their home countries, such as criminal violence but also domestic violence.

He said: “The situation with violence is incredible, there are a lot of people escaping from violence and the fact they do not have structures to protect them when they are targeted.

“In Honduras, the level of sexism does not allow justice for women, women’s reproductive rights are not respected, they are affected by the climate crisis, and a lot of people lost everything they had due to hurricanes, etc.”

Since March 2020, the US government has deported over 618,000 people under Title 42. Only in March 2021, 104,000 people were deported under the policy.

MSF criticised the Biden administration for continuing the migrant policy to maintain public health in the US amid the pandemic.

Since taking office in January, the MSF said that President Biden’s government has deported around 240,000 people from United States under Title 42.

Tamariz also said that the same situation in Reynosa has happened in other parts of Mexico, especially in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, both near the border with the United States.

The organisation said there are migrants who do not speak Spanish as they are indigenous or from Haiti. Other vulnerable groups include injured and sick people, parents travelling with kids, pregnant women, and members of the LGBT community.

Tamariz explained that migrants are deported to the nearest country from which they entered and not their own countries so most Central Americans end up in Mexican cities waiting for the chance to seek asylum in the US again.

He also claimed that the Mexican government is not doing enough to provide the migrants with basic services or guarantee their safety.

The MSF also called on the US government to revoke Title 42 and come up with a new asylum process as it is currently “discriminatory and putting people’s lives at risk”.