Undeterred by Trump, asylum-seekers line up at the border
TIJUANA, MEXICO » Undaunted by President Donald Trump’s tough talk on immigration, asylum-seekers are forming unusually long lines at the Mexican border, with parents and mon at the border. But the backlogs that have developed over the past several weeks at crossings in California, Arizona and Texas — and people sleeping out in the open for days at a time — are rare.
Telma Ramirez made the trip from El Salvador to seek asylum in the U.S. She arrived at the border in Tijuana ing their numbers, in a scene that resembled the host station at a crowded restaurant.
Finally, on the 20th day, Ramirez made it to the front of the line.
“You must come every day to see if it’s your turn. If you don’t come, you’ll lose your place in line,” Ramirez said.
The exact reasons for the tween 2014 and 2017 to nearly 142,000, the highest level in more than 20 years.
The official, Francis Cissna, director or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the asylum backlog stood at 318,000 cases.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that any waits in Mexico
Some advocates insist the administration has enough resources to avoid the delays and is dragging its feet to discourage people from trying to come across.
The Trump administration has declared a new “zero-tolerance” policy of prosecuting every immigrant arrested for illegal entry, a practice that is separating parents from their children. Asylum-seekers who turn themselves in to border inspectors usually do
according to volunteers bringing them food and water.
Lawyers said asylumseekers at the Nogales, Arizona, crossing are camping out for up for five days to make a claim.
Across from San Diego, more than 100 asylumseekers gathered Monday in a large plaza at the Tijuana side of the nation’s busiest border crossing, alongside pushcart vendors selling oatmeal, tamales, burritos and smoothies. Families whose numbers aren’t called return to Tijuana migrant shelters to pass the time.