Hundreds of migrants camp outside closed shelter
2,752 views · Published 15 December 2018 · 2:17 · Indexed 29 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(8 Dec 2018) Hundreds of migrants remain camped outside a shelter at a sports complex that was closed one week ago by the city government of Tijuana in Mexico. The sports complex, close to the US border, once held about 6,000 Central Americans who hope to get into the US. Now, the 300 or so migrants who remain are staying in tents outside of the complex. Officials closed the shelter and are no longer offering assistance or services such as food and water. On Saturday migrants lined up to receive food donated by individuals and organisations. Officials said all the migrants have to move to a former concert venue much farther from the border. The city said in a statement the sports complex shelter was closed because of "bad sanitary conditions." Experts had expressed concerns about unsanitary conditions that had developed at the partly flooded sports complex, where the migrants had been packed into a space adequate for half their numbers. Mud, lice infestations and respiratory infections were rampant. But the migrants who refuse to leave say they do not want to move to the new El Barretal shelter, as they wish to remain close to the US border where they hope to claim asylum. Facing a likely months-long wait in Tijuana before even getting the chance to request asylum in the United States, many migrants are looking for work. Others who have already decided to stay in Mexico have applied for, and in some cases received, permits to work in Mexico. It's something the Mexican authorities have encouraged all the migrants to do in the hopes that jobs will help them put down roots here rather than crossing into the US. On Saturday, a Catholic priest, Alejandro Solaline was seen speaking with the migrants camped outside the sports complex in the hope of convincing them to go to the new shelter. He said he wanted to first register the names of the migrants and then begin a dialogue in the hope of finding a suitable solution. US officials are processing only 60 to 100 claims at San Diego's main border crossing, and the waiting list stood at around 3,000 before the caravan even arrived. 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/6bc0784fd8e33fa4cda851ca3afdd252
