Thousands of African migrants are making Ecuador their port of entry into the Americas. But how long can the small nation keep its doors open? Peter Atempke, a 25-year-old student, has been coming to the San Ysidro border crossing in the Mexican city of Tijuana for two months now. He currently spends his mornings hanging around the gate with other migrants from his home country of Cameroon and a plethora of other African nations, waiting for his number to come up on an improvised list system that will let him go through to ask for asylum at the door of the United States. Unlike the Central Americans and Mexicans standing in line who can get to the U.S.-Mexico border in a matter of weeks, if not days, Atempke has been traveling since late January. He started much further south than Honduras or El Salvador: in Quito, Ecuador, which is where he entered the Americas. At a time when the U.S. and Mexico are increasingly working to keep migrants — mostly from poor, violence-struck Central American nations — out or send them home, Ecuador is building a reputation as a little-known gateway into the region for those fleeing African nations. But that pro-migrant approach is increasingly under stress, say experts, as Ecuador’s own resources are stretched, and regional powers frown upon open borders. | 