Migrants block US-Mexico border crossing, force closure

Hundreds of Central American migrants blocked a border crossing Thursday between the Mexican city of Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas, demanding the United States let them in to apply for asylum.

The migrants camped out on the border bridge overnight, leading officials to close it for more than nine hours, said US and Mexican authorities.

They finally agreed to leave the bridge under a deal brokered by local officials, said Matamoros Mayor Mario Alberto Lopez Hernandez.

"We have reached a deal on good terms with the migrants, and also held talks with the authorities in Brownsville," he told AFP.

He said Matamoros, a bustling crossing point between the two countries, had felt the impact of the closure.

"It affected the city, because that bridge is used for daily trade. Anyone trying to cross in either direction was affected." He did not give further details on the deal reached with the migrants.

US Customs and Border Protection said cross-border traffic "was temporarily halted at about 1.30 am after a group of 250 to 300 migrants without entry documents... gathered at the midpoint of the Gateway Bridge."