Personal belongings, including critical documents, left behind in the rush to seek asylum.

In Yuma, Arizona, close to a gap in the US-Mexico border wall, migrants are leaving behind essential belongings—shoes, clothing, and even crucial documents like passports—as they attempt to seek asylum. Despite extreme conditions in the Sonoran Desert, many asylum seekers from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Colombia are arriving at unofficial points along the border due to the closure of official ports of entry under Title 42. In an environment of fear and urgency, US Border Patrol agents require migrants to discard most of their possessions, with only a small Department of Homeland Security-issued bag allowed for essential items. As the situation worsens, large piles of personal belongings are accumulating along the border, highlighting the human cost of this crisis and the struggles faced by those seeking refuge.