Caravan migrants weigh options in Tijuana after court blocks Trump ban
4,871 views · Published 26 November 2018 · 1:43 · Indexed 30 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(21 Nov 2018) Central American migrants arriving to the Mexican border city of Tijuana to reach the U.S were weighing their options, on Wednesday, after a California court blocked President Donald Trump's asylum ban for thosing caught crossing the border illegally. Migrants who spoke to the Associated Press said they had no intention of breaking the law, but were just looking to find work and escape poverty in their home nations. They strongly denied claims by US President Donald Trump and Mexican officials that the migrant caravan harboured gang members and criminals. A day earlier, Tijuana officials said they had arrested 34 caravan members for drug possession, public intoxication, disturbing the peace and resisting police, and they would be deported to their home countries. Some local police and residents have expressed concern that portraying the caravan as criminals has tarred its innocent members and exposed them to reprisals. There have also been anti-migrant protests in the border city. Juan Carlos Hernandez from Honduras said if given the opportunity to live and work in the U.S., he would not break laws or commit any crimes. U.S. border inspectors are processing only about 100 asylum claims a day at Tijuana's main crossing to San Diego, and there was already a waiting list of 3,000 when the new migrants arrived, so most will have to wait months to even be considered for asylum. For most people in this city of 1.6 million, the arrival of thousands of Central Americans is not very noticeable. Most of the migrants stay within a three-block radius of the sports complex that faces the towering metal walls topped with barbed wire at the U.S.-Mexico border. But the United States has dramatically increased security at ports of entry in preparation for the caravan, placing cement barriers topped with razor wire that can be quickly moved to block passage if a mass of migrants to try to force their way into the country. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cc7ce532887db08b401bcad6329d7c9a
