AZMEX I3 UPDATE2 22-11-18

AZMEX I3 UPDATE2 22 NOV 2018

Note: Agua Prieta, Son. is across the border from Douglas, AZ.
Thx


Members of migrant caravan arrive in Agua Prieta
By Emily Ellis emily.ellis@myheraldreview.com
Nov 21, 2018

https://www.douglasdispatch.com/news/members-of-migrant-caravan-arrive-in-agua-prieta/article_badcb0e8-edab-11e8-9a20-e7b0c81c47b5.html

AGUA PRIETA, Sonora — Members of a migrant caravan from Central America arrived in Agua Prieta by bus over the weekend,
according to Douglas and Cochise County officials.

The migrants are being housed in shelters and homes in Agua Prieta, said Douglas Mayor Robert Uribe.
While early reports said that about 700 migrants had arrived in the city, Uribe said on Tuesday that the number was likely closer to 100 or less.

"The number is still unknown; however, nowhere near 700," said Uribe.
"Some are saying that they came from Hermosillo, but I haven't been able to confirm that."

The caravan first formed in Honduras in October, a country annually ranked among those with the highest murder rates in the world.
The caravan, which includes thousands of men, women and children, broke into multiple groups during the 2,000-plus mile journey toward the U.S.,
with many planning to seek asylum once they reached the border.

Uribe said he wasn't aware whether any asylum requests were being processed in Douglas.

Members of the caravan began arriving at the California border the previous week,
where they were met by angry protests from hundreds of Tijuana, Mexico, residents, reported the Associated Press.
Similar incidents are unlikely to occur in Cochise County border communities, said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels.

"Our role at the local level, our plan, is to protect communities, and to support our federal partners if called upon," he said.

Dannels said he was in regular communication with officials throughout southern Arizona regarding the migrant caravans.
"We encourage that legal process; we do not want disorder on the border. If they're breaking laws or rules, that's when we'll act."

Uribe also did not anticipate any "disruptions" at the Douglas Port of Entry, he said.
"I think that for the most part, the Mexican and the U.S. authorities have been working together to make sure that there isn't any interruption," he said.
"We're very vigilant right now. We're proud of the work that each agency is doing to secure, protect, and defend our border."

The arrival of the migrants is also unlikely to cause any delays or closures at the Douglas port, said acting port Director Michael Osterman.
While the agency must "carefully manage resources and space" if faced with high volumes of people to process, he said, closing ports would only occur "if needed."
"Right now, it's business as usual," he said.

U.S. Army troops, deployed in response to the migrant caravans under a mission formerly known as "Operation Faithful Patriot"
in order to provide Customer and Border Protection with logistical and engineering assistance, are also still stationed in Douglas
and along other parts of the Arizona border, where their work has included installing razor wire on the border wall.

While the troops were originally scheduled to go home in mid-December, a Nov. 19 news release from U.S. Army North
said some forces could be shifted to other areas of the border, including California, and that "no specific timeline for redeployment has been determined."


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