'Caravan migrants' reach U.S.-Mexico border
- 6 years ago
Hundreds of people from the so-called "Central American migrant caravan" have reached the U.S.-Mexico border to ask America for asylum.
The group's month-long journey through Mexico had drawn a furious response from President Trump
Ro Aram reports.
About 400 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are at their final stretch of a month-long trip.
They reached Friendship Park in the border city Tijuana on Sunday, with about 200 of them seeking asylum.
They were welcomed by U.S. immigration activists rallying on the San Diego side concerned for their safety.
"These people have come from Central America. They are fleeing really for their lives and we are country which has a long history, a very mixed history, but a long history of receiving people. And I'm very worried about what is going to happen to them when they attempt to apply for asylum, when they cross the border, because they have the legal right under international law to do that."
The migrants were hoping to get safe passage to the United States, but faced trouble upon arrival as U.S. immigration officials announced that the San Diego crossing was already at full capacity.
Border officials also warned that those whose asylum cases were not strong enough would face detention or deportation.
Organizers and activists lashed out the authorities saying they had ample time to prepare for the influx of migrants, which they knew was coming.
The migrant caravan had drawn ire from President Trump and his Cabinet members, who called the group a threat to the United States.
Trump pressured Mexico to stop the convoy by threatening to pull out of the North American FTA if it failed to do so.
The migrants have a tough wait ahead in what is already a very strict U.S. immigration policy.
More than three-quarters of immigrants seeking asylum from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala between 2011 and 2016 lost their cases.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.
The group's month-long journey through Mexico had drawn a furious response from President Trump
Ro Aram reports.
About 400 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are at their final stretch of a month-long trip.
They reached Friendship Park in the border city Tijuana on Sunday, with about 200 of them seeking asylum.
They were welcomed by U.S. immigration activists rallying on the San Diego side concerned for their safety.
"These people have come from Central America. They are fleeing really for their lives and we are country which has a long history, a very mixed history, but a long history of receiving people. And I'm very worried about what is going to happen to them when they attempt to apply for asylum, when they cross the border, because they have the legal right under international law to do that."
The migrants were hoping to get safe passage to the United States, but faced trouble upon arrival as U.S. immigration officials announced that the San Diego crossing was already at full capacity.
Border officials also warned that those whose asylum cases were not strong enough would face detention or deportation.
Organizers and activists lashed out the authorities saying they had ample time to prepare for the influx of migrants, which they knew was coming.
The migrant caravan had drawn ire from President Trump and his Cabinet members, who called the group a threat to the United States.
Trump pressured Mexico to stop the convoy by threatening to pull out of the North American FTA if it failed to do so.
The migrants have a tough wait ahead in what is already a very strict U.S. immigration policy.
More than three-quarters of immigrants seeking asylum from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala between 2011 and 2016 lost their cases.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.