Migrants’ Caravan: Tensions at the border

Around 500 people tried to forcibly cross one of the borders that Mexico has with the United States

On November 25, after walking thousands of kilometers, hundreds of migrants from several Central American countries reached the border between Tijuana, Mexico and the United States. There, they were received by border agents, whose main mission was to prevent the entry of migrants.

Leer en español: Caravana de Migrantes: Tensiones en la frontera

At 10 o'clock in the morning, while some members of the caravan of migrants tried to convince the agents to let them pass peacefully, others decided to do it by force. As the Tijuana Sun explains, "the migrants decided to walk along Alberto Aldrete Street, which is also located parallel to the International avenue and the canalization of the Tijuana River, where the migrants decided to continue on their way to Pedestrian Oeste (PedWest) and the customs office of the southern crossing of the United States to Tijuana. "

When they reached the edge of the wall they tried to cross it in all possible ways. However, the US border agents received them with rubber bullets and tear gas. The result: men, children and women were affected and without achieving their goal. In the afternoon, all those who tried the feat decided to return to the camp installed in the city of Tijuana.

Maybe you're interested in reading: Will AMLO be the change Mexico needs?

The measures of Mexico

Given the facts presented, Alfonso Navarrete, Secretary of the Interior, announced on Monday that he deported 98 Central Americans, "for his proven participation in the violent acts of yesterday in the El Chaparral port of entry, on the border between Mexico and the United States."

With this, the National Institute of Migration (INM), published a statement expressing the reasons for the deportation and states that these 98 people had violent behavior and "attempted to assault and injure Federal Migration Agents and Federal Police that protected the border area of ​​the Mexico-United States pass, in the El Chaparral port. "

Likewise, they affirmed that under "articles 115, 143 and 144, fourth section, of the Migration Law, establish that the INM has the mechanisms of assisted return and deportation to make leave of the national territory to that foreigner who violates the provisions contained in the law ".

On the other hand, the Mexican government has made several shelters available and even the possibility that migrants may request their return to their respective countries. Thus, according to the INM, on November 27, 105 people from different Central American countries voluntarily requested their return to their countries of origin.

Is the end of the caravan near?

What happened last Sunday is a warning sign for the caravan because, those who arrived there, discovered that the situation is difficult due to the more than 3,000 people who are already at the border waiting to be called to apply for asylum, as The New York Times reports.

Added to this is the fact that more than 7,000 Hondurans have requested to be returned to their country. In the statement expressed by the Ambassador of Honduras in Mexico, "of the migrants, 3,975 are adults and 3,146 are minors, of which most of them traveled alone."

With the tensions presented and the number of migrants, which is increasing every time, that they give up their original plan, one could imagine that what happens is that the caravan comes to an end. However, there are still migrants who hope that through the request for asylum the entrance will be recognized and their goal will be achieved.

It will be necessary to observe the step to follow given that the incoming government of Mexico "has confirmed that they are in talks with the Trump government, but point out that they have yet to reach an agreement," as pointed out by The New York Times.

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "Caravana de Migrantes: Tensiones en la frontera"

Listen this article