tonight we're on both sides of the border on the heels of a major supreme court decision. we go inside the nation's frayed immigration system. our maria elena salinas is with those seeking asylum. the coyotes who smuggle them across. >> are you worried that what you're doing is illegal? >> the american towns caught in the middle. >> i don't fault them for wanting a better life. we do not have the volunteer base right now to establish a shelter. we don't. >> what do you say to those people who say, migrants should come and do it the right way? >> if you're running from violence, what is the right way? >> this special edition of "nightline," "crisis at the border," will be right back. at drugstores bak

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♪ ♪ thanks for joining us. i'm stephanie ramos. this week, a major supreme court decision ended the trump-era remain in mexico policy. but another controversial program, title 42, which allows the u.s. to turn away migrants

to stop the spread of covid, remains. and just as officials are predicting a summer surge, abc's maria elena salinas is on both sides of the border for a look at the challenges and complexities of our immigration system. >> reporter: this motel 6 in southern new mexico may not look like much. there's no swimming pool or room service. the only scenery is the i-10 across the way. but for these families who have journeyed across the mexican border, it's a godsend. >> sometimes they haven't eaten for three days. sometimes they've had to share meals. >> reporter: about two times a week, around 50 or so migrants are dropped off at this popup shelter run out of local hotels. why are you operating out of this hotel? >> there's no space available to us. we hope that will change one

day. but we can't wait. we need a shelter, we need it now. >> reporter: some in deming worry this could be the start of a new surge in arrivals. >> why are you concerned with migrants coming? >> what i'm concerned with is, are we going to be able to process them? there's no way that we could dedicate the kind of manpower. there's just no way. >> reporter: this town, a microcosm of the crisis at the southern border, grappling daily with the complexities and shortfalls of our nation's immigration system. >> breaking headline involving immigration and the situation on >> title 42, that trump-era policy that allows border patrol to turn away migrants to prevent the spread of covid-19 -- >> reporter: title 42 has been challenged in federal court, but for now it remains in effect. separately, the supreme court just overturned another trump-era policy, referred to as remain in mexico, that forced

migrants who are claiming asylum to await entry to the u.s. in mexico. tonight we speak to the asylum seekers in the crosshairs. the ones fleeing for their lives. the coyotes helping them cross. >> are you worried that what you're doing is illegal? and the activists offering refuge when the journey becomes too dangerous. what do you say to those people who say, migrants should come and do it the right way? >> if you're running from violence, what is the right way? >> it's cramped quarters, but we can't complain. >> reporter: ariana founded this shelter in 2019. most of the migrants she helps have already placed an asylum request with immigration officials so they can legally stay in the u.s. as their cases are processed.

>> i tease that nobody chooses deming, they're just moving through. it might just be a stopover. and then they're going to wherever they're going. >> reporter: recent arrivals here come from as near as colombia and as far as turkey. but they are the lucky ones. some asylum seekers from other countries, like mexico, guatemala, honduras, are more often turned away under the controversial trump-era policy title 42. it's a health policy meant to slow the spread of covid-19. but activists say it does much more. >> personally, it has kept a lot of individuals from being able to fulfill their constitutional right. it's not a migration or an immigration control. it never was meant to be. but that's how it got used. >> it is a legal requirement of the u.s. to allow people who get to the united states to apply for asylum.

what title 42 has done is create a legal fiction that says people are not in the united states and therefore don't have the right to apply for asylum. >> reporter: it's estimated that as many as 18,000 migrants will cross into the u.s. if the policy is lifted. more than double the 7,000 a day currently coming. deming's mayor, benny jasso, is concerned for his town if title 42 goes away. >> i don't fault them for wanting a better life. the only difference is we do not have the volunteer base right now to establish a shelter. we don't. >> is the federal government providing resources that you might need in case there are asylum seekers that do qualify for asylum that might end up in this area? >> not to us. >> reporter: trent hogan is the deming police chief. do you feel, chief, that it creates any kind of security issues when you have migrants come here? >> no, ma'am. we don't have any issues with

the people there at all. >> reporter: but ariana says her experience has been different. you had mentioned that the city is becoming more anti-immigrant by the day. can you explain that? >> there's only a few, but they just so happen to be the loudest, that will say the worst things. >> reporter: ariana and her staff have noticed an increasing hostility. what kind of threats are you getting? >> we were told they would figure out a way for me to lose my home if i had them on my house, in my property. >> reporter: she refuses to abandon these families in need. this woman had just fled colombia with her 10-year-old daughter when we met her. she says she left after receiving threats over debts her ex-husband owed.

but not everyone is so lucky. just over the mexican border in tijuana, you'll find many migrant families stuck here. >> it's become an additional barrier. and also it's caused a lot of heartache for these families. >> reporter: many are blocked by title 42. others here in mexico by that other policy, formerly called the migrant protection protocol, known to most as remain in mexico. >> turning back people who have legitimate asylum claims is a major issue and does damage to the credibility of the united states. none of these measures that were designed to just make the border harder to cross really dealt with the fundamental issues. >> reporter: stephanie is the cofounder and executive director of yes, we can.

the organization operates this school within this shelter. >> when a kid comes into our program, we give them two uniforms and a backpack full of supplies. and everything is free of charge. >> reporter: this shelter offers free education and a place to live while they wait to cross into the u.s. >> we focus on full-time education, meaning that we're here every day, monday through friday. people think about shelter and water, but for children, we believe that education is just as vital. >> good evening, welcome. >> reporter: the quarters are cramped, but this family of five is grateful.

they're just one of the many families at the shelter who need help preparing their asylum request that were forced to flee their hometown of acapulco, mexico, earlier this year. in their hometown and other parts of mexico, extortion is common. this reality has helped make acapulco the second-deadliest city in the world. the oldest daughter, just 18 years old, still vividly remembers the rush to find a

safe haven after she started getting anonymous threats on social media. up next -- the horrifying risks migrants face to get over

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with a qualifying bundle. ♪ "nightline," "crisis at the border," continues. here again, maria elena salinas. >> reporter: in early june, a throng of thousands upon thousands of migrants in southern mexico began pushing north with one goal -- to reach the united states. many of them hoping to claim

asylum. >> reporter: while mexican authorities say they've disbanded the caravan, this is just a glimpse of the potential surge in migration american officials say is coming. >> this will be the biggest of them all. and a lot of it is because things are really bad in latin america. economies have not necessarily recovered from the covid recession. >> reporter: some migrants who have already reached the border have been sent to mexico where they wait for their asylum cases to be processed. others, unwilling to wait, attempt to cross into america illegally with the help of men like willie. are you worried that what you're doing is illegal? >> reporter: willie is a third-generation coyote who sees his decades-long profession not just as a business, but as an act of selflessness.

the u.s. is cracking down on people like you, on coyotes. are you worried this is going to end your career? >> reporter: he charges up to $3,000 per person, money that's split between him and his team on both sides of the border. >> so the guards on the border, the u.s. side, are allowing you in? are you paying them? in a statement to abc news, a spokesperson for u.s. customs and border protection says the agency has robust anti-corruption measures in place and that cbp has zero-tolerance for corrupt personnel. you know that a lot of the people that come to the border are running away from danger and

poverty. don't you feel like you're exploiting them? >> reporter: now 70 years old, willie says he might retire as it becomes harder and harder to run his operation. are you worried that you will get caught and arrested? >> reporter: but trusting someone to help make the perilous journey across the border can come with far more deadly risks. just this week, at least 53 migrants died after they were found in a tractor-trailer in san antonio, texas, abandoned in the sweltering heat. it's one of the worst cases of suspected human smuggling in recent u.s. history. but there are many kinds of dangers that wait on the road to america. what do you do in this office? >> in this office we interview

the victims. >> reporter: marisa is director of the bilateral safety corridor coalition, a nonprofit that works to combat human trafficking and rehabilitate survivors. >> the american dream is what's being sold, in your own country. "oh, you can have a better life." >> reporter: it's the promise of the american dream that makes the easier for bad actors to prey on immigrants, with assurances that they can qualify for asylum once they're on american soil. >> it's a fairly stringent standard to get asylum in the united states. a majority of people do not get asylum but a signica do. >> reporter: many become indebted to traffickers, forced to work off their debt with physical labor or sex work. >> a lot of years ago, we were interviewing women that had crossed the border. they all assumed that part of that trip, they were going to get raped, and they did it anyway. >> reporter: marisa has helped

countless women, including one we are calling maria. she left el salvador to escape a gang that forced her to work for them and found herself in mexico where she applied for asylum. >> reporter: that man, who she says was a coyote, gained her trust and took her to sonora in northwest mexico.

>> reporter: she says she was repeatedly drugged and raped, left tied up by her abuser, unable to escape, until finally one day, she did. >> reporter: pregnant as a ke the of rape, she decided to across the border, finally making it to america in 2018 where she applied for asylum and was taken to meet marisa.

>> what do you say to those people who say, migrants should come and do it the right way, they should get their place in the line. is there a line? >> i would say, what is the right way? if you're running from violence and from dying, what is the right way? >> reporter: stay with us. announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. or death in adults also with known heart disease. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

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♪ ♪ our thanks to maria elena for that in-depth report. that is "nightline" for tonight. have a great weekend. good night, america.