Migrant caravan arrives at Mexico/U.S. border, even as Trump warns them not to seek asylum

Rebecca Plevin | The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption Central American migrant caravan arrives in Mexicali Two buses of about 130 Central American migrants arrived in Mexicali, where they spent about two hours at a shelter, relaxing on pallets on the ground, eating ham and egg sandwiches, drinking iced tea and charging their cell phones.

MEXICALI — Yaneth Gonzalez and her husband Sergio Torres have spent the past month traveling on foot and by bus northward through Mexico. They are fleeing crime and violence at home in El Salvador and planning to seek asylum in the United States.

But on Tuesday morning, they were seeking something more immediate: Medical care for their 10-month-old daughter Dariana. At a makeshift medical station on the sidewalk outside of a migrant shelter in Mexicali, Gonzalez cradled her sleepy daughter, who had been running a fever and vomiting since the night before. A state public health official took the baby's temperature and prescribed medication.

Gonzalez and Torres are among hundreds of Central American migrants who are part of a controversial caravan that has captured the attention of the Trump Administration. The caravan stopped in Mexicali on Tuesday on its way to Tijuana, where the participants plan to seek asylum this weekend, even as the White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are discouraging people from doing so.

More: The caravan at the heart of the latest U.S./Mexico border dispute

More: How a Central American migrant caravan grew so big that it unintentionally may have backfired

"Despite the Democrat inspired laws on Sanctuary Cities and the Border being so bad and one-sided, I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our country," Trump tweeted Monday. "It is a disgrace. We are the only Country in the World so naïve. Wall!"

Despite the Democrat inspired laws on Sanctuary Cities and the Border being so bad and one sided, I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is a disgrace. We are the only Country in the World so naive! WALL — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2018

More: Five reasons why Trump wants you to be talking about that Mexico caravan

That same day, Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued a statement warning that members of the caravan who enter the country illegally will be prosecuted.

"For those seeking asylum, all individuals may be detained while their claims are adjudicated efficiently and expeditiously, and those found not to have a claim will be promptly removed from the United States," she said. "DHS encourages persons with asylum or other similar claims to seek in protections in the first safe country they enter, including Mexico."

But on Tuesday, the migrants did not appear to be deterred.

When two buses of about 130 people arrived in Mexicali, they were met by about 30 people affiliated with the local government, including public health officials, social service representatives and law enforcement. The officials were there not to stoke a multinational dispute, but to provide humanitarian assistance, said Gustavo Magallanes, who oversees migrant affairs for the state of Baja California.

"We are conscious of the fact that this is an issue of rights and that these families are free to ask for asylum," Magallanes said in Spanish. He expects three or four more busloads of migrants to arrive in Mexicali on Wednesday.

The migrants relaxed for about two hours at the shelter in Mexicali, where they ate ham and egg sandwiches, drank iced tea and charged their cell phones. More than 50 people got medical care for respiratory infections, diarrhea and other issues, according to a health official.

More: The migrant caravan shelters in Mexico, doctors treating fevers, chills and other ailments

As they rested on pallets on the ground in the shelter, many shared a similar story: Families were fleeing crime and violence in Central America and seeking security in the U.S.

The parents of the sick baby, Gonzalez and Torres, said they are fleeing crime in El Salvador. Torres wiped tears from his eyes as he explained that his first cousin was assassinated eight years ago. More recently, gang members had threatened to do the same to him.

He said he left behind his mother and a 17-year-old daughter. He said he cannot return home.

For the past 10 years, several hundred migrants from Central America have traveled together through Mexico toward the U.S. border. This year, at its peak, the caravan included more than 1,600 people. Many were seeking relief from gang violence and political instability in Honduras.

President Trump, concerned about the size of the caravan approaching the U.S., requested that border states send National Guard troops to the area. Though it has become a political flash point, the caravan has provided people with security, explained Tristan Call, a volunteer with Pueblo Sin Fronteras, the group that organized the event.

He said he knew of two families that had separated from the caravan and were kidnapped. They are now free, he said.

"We have prevented 10, 20, 100 kidnappings with this caravan," Call said in Spanish. "We don't know how many and we don't want to know how many."

Follow Rebecca Plevin on Twitter @rebeccaplevin.