Giving Compass' Take:

· For those seeking asylum, CityLabs explains why migrants fear the threat of violence and poverty much more than that of the COVID-19 pandemic.

· How can donors support asylum seekers during this time? What can be done for this populations to keep them safe during this outbreak?

· Here's how we can support immigrant communities during this pandemic.

At the Belén migrant shelter in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula it’s afternoon recess – one of the two times each day that residents are allowed out of the facility’s front doors. An 18-year-old asylum-seeker from Honduras, who asked to be called John, sits in the sun on a boulder, a face mask slung around his neck.

A few miles south, Mexico’s river border with Guatemala – which John crossed last month after fleeing his infamously violent hometown San Pedro Sula – is now fenced off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Guatemalan soldiers in face masks guard the bridge.

John received his own mask from shelter staff and, along with other inhabitants, has been instructed to wash his hands regularly, stay clean and inform officials of any Covid-19 symptoms.

But social distancing is impossible in this overcrowded facility. Belén’s official capacity is 130, but as of June 2019 some 325 peoplewere bunking in the Catholic-run shelter, according to a study by the International Organization of Migration. Residents share fifteen showers between them, sleep together in dorms and eat communal meals – a nightmare scenario for infection control.

Last week shelter director César Augusto Cañaveral Pérez announced Belén would close its doors to new residents to try to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.

But John has bigger concerns than catching the disease. “I’m more afraid of returning to Honduras,” he says.

Read the full article about asylum seekers and COVID-19 by Megan Clement at CityLab.