Migrant caravan: No room for asylum seekers at border crossing, U.S. says

Daniel González and Rebecca Plevin | USA TODAY Network

Show Caption Hide Caption Migrant caravan reaches California border seeking asylum A group of about 200 Central American migrants arrived at the U.S. border after a 2,500-mile journey. Now, they face threats of being detained and separated from their families.

TIJUANA, MEXICO — A group of about 200 Central American migrants made a final triumphant walk Sunday, singing and cheering as they made their way toward an official border crossing to apply for asylum in the United States.

The day was supposed to cap a 2,500-mile journey that began more than a month ago on the Mexican border with Guatemala.

But once the migrants, many of them women carrying small children in their arms, reached the San Ysidro port, the caravan appeared to collide head-on with the Trump administration.

Moments before the migrants arrived, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced that none of the migrants from the caravan would be processed for asylum because the agency had reached capacity for the day for migrants seeking asylum.

The afternoon announcement stunned organizers and immigrant-rights advocates, especially considering statements earlier this week by Department of Homeland Security officials that teams of asylum officers were being dispatched to the border to quickly process the migrants.

Supporters of migrant caravan gather at border fence in Tijuana The Arizona Republic's Daniel Gonzalez reports on supporters of the migrant caravan who have gathered at the border fence Sunday, April 29, 2018.

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"They know we are coming. The whole world is watching," said Irineo Mujica, an organizer with the transnational group Pueblo Sin Fronteras. "They are trying to please Donald Trump."

Customs and Border Protection move seems timed

The caravan has angered Trump for weeks. His administration's view is that the group represented a threat to border security and national sovereignty.

The Customs and Border Protection posture appeared timed to intentionally block the caravan, said Brian Griffey, a researcher with Amnesty International, who was in Tijuana to observe the treatment of the migrants.

"Instead, they are trying to push them back into the Mexican arena without an individual assessment of the persecution these people claim they are fleeing," Griffey said. "Seeking asylum is not a crime. They need to let them in and deal with their claims."

After the migrants arrived at the port, organizers huddled with American lawyers to discuss a plan, then sent a group of about 100 migrants through the entrance gates of the port. But late Sunday afternoon it was unclear whether any of them had been processed.

April 28: As migrant caravan reaches Tijuana, a difficult decision awaits

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Another group of about 50 to 75 migrants, meanwhile, sat down on the cement in an area that had been fenced off by Mexican immigration authorities, prepared to wait until they were allowed into the port.

Some organizers led migrants in chants of “Si se puede,” It can be done, as they waited.

Kevin McAleenan, the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said in a written statement that the agency had "reached capacity at the San Ysidro port of entry for CBP officers to be able to bring additional persons traveling without appropriate entry documentation into the port of entry for processing."

Jackie Wasiluk with CBP Public Affairs in San Diego said in an email that, "As sufficient space and resources become available, CBP officers will be able to take additional individuals into the port for processing."

"At this time, I don’t have a timeline for when that will be," her statement said.

Another CBP spokesman, Ralph DeSio, clarified that the port was at capacity for Sunday, but that the migrants could try again Monday.

Alex Mensing with Pueblo Sin Fronteras said 50 people approached the port of entry on Sunday; Border Patrol told them it was at capacity. As of 5:30 p.m., they were still waiting there.

Mensing said the remaining members of the caravan who intended to seek asylum would camp by the border crossing.

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"We are going to stay here until every single one of the asylum seekers is able to exercise their right to seek asylum," he said.

He used the disappointing moment to make a political statement: “We hope that someday, the priorities of the United States government are such that we take care of people who are fleeing violence, before we try to round up people in our cities and deport them in ICE raids.”

Isabel Rodriguez, a widow who had made the journey north from El Salvador with two grandsons, seemed undeterred by the latest setback.

"We’ve withstood, on the train, many days of exhaustion, hunger, cold and heat," said Rodriguez. "We’ve withstood it and we’re here as one united community."

Daniel González reports for The Arizona Republic; Rebecca Plevin reports for The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun. Follow González and Plevin on Twitter: @azdangonzalez and @rebeccaplevin

April 3: Trump keeps focus on caravan of Honduran asylum seekers headed to U.S.