On Nov. 25, police came into conflict with migrants on the border. The migrants were protesting how slowly U.S. asylum claims are processed.
Several migrants marched to the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, California. Their plan was to march in peace toward the port of entry in hopes to apply for asylum, which grants protection to someone who has left their native country for shelter or protection from danger, but as they got closer they were met by the unexpected.
Sunday morning as the migrants arrived, they encountered U.S. border agents who fired tear gas at them. Some migrants tried to get through the border by going through the wires and climbing through the fencing that is in between both countries.
“All will stay in Mexico. If for any reason it becomes necessary, we will CLOSE our Southern Border. There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore!” President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.
He threatened to close the southern border to prevent what is commonly referred to as the “migrant caravan” from getting into the U.S. successfully. This lead to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to close the port of entry for a couple hours, to try to resolve the issue.
Thousands of Central American migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico traveled to Tijuana, Mexico by foot, and found shelter at Benito Juarez’s Sports Complex. The sports complex offered shelter, and resources to be able to live there for days or weeks as they arrived. The port of entry in San Ysidro is a place where you can enter the U.S. lawfully following inspections and screenings on all foreign visitors that wish to enter America.
Many of the immigrants in the caravan hoped to escape their native countries in hopes to escape the violence, and poverty that they witness daily in their home lands.
