Asylum bid begins

US border agents start processing Central American migrants

US immigration officials have begun processing asylum applications from a caravan of Central American migrants camped at the US-Mexico border, despite criticism from President Donald Trump of their bid to enter the country.

Border agents admitted 17 migrants, mostly women and children, yesterday to begin the process, according to organisers with the Pueblo Sin Fronteras immigrant rights group.

Eight other migrants from the caravan were allowed in on Monday night.

That left about 115 migrants who had made the 3200km trek from Central America waiting in a makeshift camp outside the border post in the Mexican city of Tijuana.

“I’m scared, I’m so scared. I don’t want to return to my country,” said Reina Isabel Rodriguez, who fled Honduras with two grandsons, tears streaming down her face.

By yesterday afternoon, a couple dozen more migrants rushed to gather their belongings before heading into the border facility’s walkway for what could be another 24-hour wait.

The US Department of Jus- tice said on Monday night it had launched prosecutions against 11 “suspected” caravan members on charges of crossing the border illegally.

The caravan set off more than a month ago from southern Mexico on a trek to the California border, gathering people along the way.

It swelled to 1500 migrants at one point but has since dwindled.

The caravan’s progress has drawn attention from the US news media after Mr Trump demanded such groups be denied entry and that stronger immigration laws be enacted.

Mr Trump’s hard line against illegal immigration has been a centrepiece of his presidency, as he pursues an “America First” agenda that includes a proposed wall along the US-Mexico border to stem the flow of immigrants and drug trafficking.

But on asylum applications, the Trump administration’s hands are tied by international and US laws obliging the US to give a fair chance to migrants who say they fear returning home.

Most in the caravan said they were fleeing death threats, extortion and violence from street gangs.

Asylum seekers must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution at home, most often from a state entity.

Central Americans fare badly in such claims because the state is rarely seen as directly responsible for the lifethreatening situations they leave behind.

I’M SCARED, I’M SO SCARED. I DON’T WANT TO RETURN TO MY COUNTRY. REINA ISABEL RODRIGUEZ

Picture: AP A girl who travelled with the annual caravan of Central American migrants awakens where the group set up camp to wait for access to request asylum in the US, outside the El Chaparral port of entry building at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico.