AZMEX I3 29-4-18

AZMEX I3 29 APR 2018


Central American migrants intend to cross into the US illegally
Some of the members of the Migrant Caravan have tried to cross into the US without the asylum application.
By: Ana L. Gómez | 04/29/2018 7:49

http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/29042018/1335263-Migrantes-centroamericanos-intentan-cruzar-galgal-a-EU.html

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SAN DIEGO, California (GH)
Several groups of migrants who are part of the Migrant Caravan have crossed the border of Mexico with the United States, without documents, in the last 24 hours.

Migrants including a pregnant woman, and even children as young as 4 years old, were detected in the United States after they climbed the metal border mesh, according to information from the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP). for its acronym in English).

A CBP statement indicates that undocumented crossings have been recorded near the San Ysidro port on both sides.
"It is imperative that they know that if they enter our country without documents, they have broken the law and will be prosecuted. If they make a false immigration statement, they have also broken the law and will be prosecuted, "said San Diego Border Patrol chief Rodney S. Scott.

The migrant caravan is held every year during Holy Week and is composed of Central American migrants, who seek asylum in the United States.

"Individuals who are part of the caravan and seek asylum or who intend to make another type of declaration, must apply for protection in the first safe country they find, including in Mexico," said Scott.

The authorities did not disclose the number of migrants they have identified as part of the migrant caravan, and who crossed without documents through the Tijuana-San Diego border.

CBP Operations Director in San Diego, Pete Flores said that migrants arriving at San Diego's checkpoints without documents to enter the country will be taken care of, although depending on the time, they may have to wait for the Mexican side, while process the rest.

END


More:

Dozens of Central Americans expected to ask for asylum at U.S. border today
An attorney on Saturday met in Tijuana on Saturday with members of the Pueblo Sin Fronteras caravan as they considered whether to seek asylum from the United States.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigration/sd-me-asylum-caravan-20180428-story.html

Sandra Dibble Sandra DibbleContact Reporter

As dozens prepared to present themselves at the San Ysidro Port of Entry today, more uncertainty lay ahead for a group of Central Americans who are seeking asylum from the U.S. government — undeterred by fierce criticism from President Trump.

Some members of the Pueblo Sin Fronteras Caravan may have to remain in Tijuana for a while longer before they can be processed by U.S. authorities at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Pete Flores, director of field operations in San Diego for the agency, said on Saturday that "depending on port circumstances at the time of arrival, individuals may need to wait in Mexico as CBP officers work to process those already within our facilities."

The Central Americans would not be the first group to be forced to wait in Mexico. When thousands of Haitians sought entry at San Ysidro in 2016, CBP worked with Mexican officials to accept limited numbers each day so as not to overwhelm the port's processing capacity.

By foot, bus and train, the caravan participants have been journeying through Mexico since leaving the southern border city of Tapachula on March 25 with the aim of reaching the Tijuana-San Diego border. Most are from Honduras, and tell of gang violence and extortion back home.

On Saturday, as they lingered near the U.S. border at Plaza Viva Tijuana, many appeared weary and ready to move on.

Those expected to ask for asylum are a small percentage of a traveling group that at one point swelled to more than 1,700 members, according to organizers. They said that about 400 caravan participants, many of them women and children, had completed the journey to Tijuana, and some small groups already been surrendering at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in recent days.

David López was among dozens pondering their next move on Saturday afternoon. López, 25, who until recently worked on the staff of an elementary school, said "organized crime and our country's government" had prompted him to flee the Copan area of Honduras with his wife and their three-year-old daughter.

Mother and child had presented themselves at San Ysidro Port of Entry ten days ago, but López remained behind. He said his wife and their daughter have been released from custody while their asylum claim is under review and are staying with family in South Carolina.

Today's group is expected to be the largest and most public of this caravan to approach U.S. border officials, though exactly how many will seek asylum was not known.

On Friday and Saturday, the caravan members met at different locations near the border with volunteer attorneys who listened to their claims and offered counseling, "so that people really know what they're getting into," said Nicole Ramos, who has worked closely with asylum applicants.

Similar caravans for years have been taking place as a way of keeping Central Americans safe from criminal gangs and corrupt officials as they travel through Mexico hoping to make it to the U.S. border.

But this caravan is one of the largest — and by far the most visible, following a series of tweets by President Trump complaining that Mexico is doing little to stop them from reaching the U.S. border.

"This is not ideal for us to have this many people, this much publicity," said Irineo Mujica, leader of the Pueblo Sin Fronteras Caravan. But "it's been really really good that we are able to see what is the problem," the violence that is causing so many to abandon their homes and come to the U.S. border.

Still, some migrant advocates have questioned the benefits brought by the caravan. "We don't think it's a really good move," said the Rev. Patrick Murphy, who heads the Catholic-run Casa del Migrante, a 120-bed shelter that overlooks the city. "What happens to those people who have made this journey for quite a few weeks now, and they get rejected, or worse yet, they don't even get their asylum cases heard."

In a statement last week, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, said the department has been "closely monitoring" the remnants of the caravan. She said DHS "encourages persons with asylum or other similar claims to seek protections in the first safe country they enter, including Mexico."

But Maureen Meyer of the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group, said that "it's naive to think that most of the Central Americans will want to request asylum in Mexico."

While Mexico "has increased its capacity to process and screen potential asylum seekers, it still has a long way to go," she said. "With widespread kidnappings, theft, sexual assaults and other crimes against migrants in Mexico, it is hard to think that Central Americans will view Mexico as a place they want to settle."

Early Sunday there were about 80 caravan supporters just north of the border at Friendship Park but an anti-caravan group, called San Diegans for Secure Borders, were expected to protest.

End



Asylum? Interesting oped from Ogden.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Video: Fake Refugee Caravan Arrives in Tijuana
From: Roger Ogden <roger@patriot-fire.net>
Date: Fri, April 27, 2018 6:48 am

Fake Refugees from Honduras in Tijuana (April 25, 2018)
The system of asylum in the U.S. has long been abused by politicians in order to secure cheap labor for big busi...

The system of asylum in the U.S. has long been abused by politicians in order to secure cheap labor for big business at the expense of American workers. These are scenes of the fake "refugees" from the caravan which arrived in Tijuana on 4/25/2018. There are over a hundred in Tijuana, so far (4/26). They are staying at "Movimiento Juventud 2000" at Constitucion Ave and Sanchez Ayala St.

I call these "fake" refugees because they are not fleeing a war or natural disaster. Most are from Honduras. They are fleeing crime and poverty, which is not a legitimate reason, according to international law. Refugees are also required to apply for asylum in the nearest country not the country with the most generous social benefits and highest paying jobs.
They are allowed to cross Mexico and apply for asylum in the US due to an executive order years ago that declared Mexico to not be a safe country for refugees. Another executive order could reverse this decision and stop this flow of economic refugees into the U.S.

Many of these refugees say outright that they are going to the U.S. to work and for a better standard of living. Some will apply for asylum at the ports of entry. Others will jump the fence, because they a processed quicker that way. All of them will be delivered to ICE, who will release many of them due to lack of detention space, especially if they have children.

Much has been made about Mexico allowing the caravan to cross their territory, but they would not be coming at all, if our own government did not accept them at the border and then just release them into the interior to disappear.

Roger Ogden
San Diego, Ca