LAW & BORDER
Caravan riders eye US thru fence
TIJUANA, Mexico — Packed into five old school buses, hundreds of Central American migrants arrived at the US border Sunday for a rally, to be followed by a planned mass attempt to apply for asylum, in a direct challenge to the Trump administration.
The migrants, many traveling with children, left a downtown Tijuana shelter where they had been staying. Police with flashing lights escorted the buses to a cross-border rally at a Pacific Ocean beach, with supporters gathering on both sides of security fencing.
Asked how he felt as he boarded the bus, Nefi Hernandez of Honduras replied, “Nervous.” He said he intended to seek asylum with his wife and infant daughter, who was born on the journey through Mexico.
President Trump and his Cabinet have been tracking the caravan of migrants, calling it a threat to the United States since it started March 25 in the Mexi- can city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the caravan “a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system,” pledging to send more immigration judges to the border to resolve cases if needed.
Trump administration officials have railed against what they call “catch-and-release” policies that allow people requesting asylum to be released from custody into the United States while their claims are processed.
The arrival at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, the nation’s busiest, marked the end of a monthlong journey by foot, freight train and bus for the migrants — many of whom said they feared for their safety back in their home countries.
Hernandez, 24, said a gang in his hometown of San Pedro Sula threatened to kill him and his family if he did not sell drugs.
Jose Cazares, 31, said he faced death threats in the Honduran city of Yoro because a gang member suspected of killing the mother of his children learned one of Cazares’ sons reported the crime to police.
Maria de Los Angeles, 17, said she hopes to move in with a sister in San Francisco.
“I’m fired up to go because I believe in God and I believe everything will work out,” she said.
But the travelers faced an uncertain future as they prepared to turn themselves in and face asylum. US immigration lawyers conducted free legal workshops for the group, warning them they face possible separation from their children and detention for many months.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that asylum claims will be resolved “efficiently and expeditiously” but that the asylum-seekers should seek it in the first safe country they reach, including Mexico.