Tijuana protest rattles migrants
Their advocates urge U.S. judge to halt Trump ‘asylum ban’
TIJUANA, Mexico — Many Central American migrants camped in Tijuana after crossing Mexico in a caravan said Monday that a protest over the weekend by residents demanding they leave frightened them and left them even more anxious while they try to get into the United States.
The protests have been fed by concerns raised by President Donald Trump’s monthlong warnings that criminals and gang members are in the group and even terrorists, though there is no evidence of that.
Meanwhile, a federal judge grilled the Justice Department on Monday over what critics call Trump’s new “asylum ban” but did not immediately rule on an urgent request from advocacy groups to halt it.
The lawsuit targets Trump’s declaration this month that only people who cross at legal checkpoints on the southern border may request asylum. Those who cross elsewhere, the government said, can seek a temporary form of protection that is much harder to qualify for and does not lead to U.S. citizenship.
Justice Department lawyer Scott Stewart told U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar there is a “crushing strain” of migrants attempting to cross the border illegally and asking for asylum as a way to stay indefinitely. He said most asylum claims are “ultimately meritless.”
Tigar questioned the administration’s account, noting that border apprehensions are near historic lows and that federal law says anyone on U.S. soil can apply for asylum — regardless of how they got there.
“What’s left of that expression of congressional intent?” the judge asked.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the administration is overstepping its authority. He called the dispute “a classic separation-of-powers case.”
“Every day we are learning about individuals who are in serious danger, individuals who have very strong asylum claims who are not being allowed to apply for asylum,” said Gelernt, one of the attorneys representing advocacy groups in the lawsuit.
Federal officials have said the president has broad powers to protect the borders and national security. When he announced the asylum rules this month, Trump invoked the same authority that ultimately allowed him to impose a travel ban on migrants from mostly Muslim-majority nations. After earlier versions were blocked in court, the Supreme Court upheld a modified version of the ban by a 5-to-4 vote in June.
Tigar also asked whether legal ports of entry had adequate staffing. “Are ports of entry capable of processing additional asylum seekers, or are they backed up?”
Stewart answered that resources could be shifted, “and presumably the process could be faster.”
He sought to reassure the judge that those who cross the border illegally could still seek protection, just not the permanent refuge and U.S. citizenship that asylum provides.
On Sunday, about 500 people demonstrated in an affluent section of Tijuana against the caravan. Dozens of protesters then marched to an outdoor sports complex near downtown where 2,500 migrants are staying, sleeping on dirt fields and under bleachers after arriving at the border city a week ago.
Tensions have built as nearly 3,000 migrants from the caravan poured into Tijuana in recent days after more than a month on the road — and with many more months likely ahead of them while they seek asylum in the U.S. The federal government estimates the number of migrants could soon swell to 10,000.
The United States has dramatically increased border security in preparation for the caravan’s arrival, closing lanes at ports of entry to place cement barriers topped with razor wire that can be quickly moved to block passage should there be a mass number who try to force their way into the country.
But the lane closures have also made it harder for cross-border residents to go back and forth into the U.S. to work and shop. The San Ysidro port of entry is one of the world’s busiest border crossings, with more than 40,000 vehicles and 34,000 pedestrians using it daily.
On Monday, U.S. authorities closed off northbound traffic for several hours and closed a pedestrian lane at the crossing to install new security barriers, after a tip that people were gathering in Tijuana to rush the border checkpoints.
Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum has called the migrants’ arrival an “avalanche” that the city is ill-prepared to handle, calculating that they will be in Tijuana for at least six months as they wait to file asylum claims.
Gastelum has appealed to the federal government for more assistance to cope with the influx — while more migrants continue to head to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump used Twitter on Sunday to voice support for the mayor. He wrote that like Tijuana, “the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!”
He followed that tweet by writing: “Catch and Release is an obsolete term. It is now Catch and Detain. Illegal Immigrants trying to come into the U.S.A., often proudly flying the flag of their nation as they ask for U.S. Asylum, will be detained or turned away.”
Information for this article was contributed by Julie Watson, Mark Stevenson and Marcos Aleman of The Associated Press; and Maria Sacchetti, Elise Ackerman and Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post.