Caravan migrants explore options after Tijuana border clash

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Many among the more than 5,000 Central American migrants in Tijuana were urgently exploring their options amid a growing feeling that they had little hope of making successful asylum bids in the United States or of crossing the border illegally.


Most were dispirited on Monday, a day after U.S. agents fired tear gas into Mexico to turn back some migrants who had breached the border. They saw the clash and official response as hurting their chances of reaching the U.S.


There was a steady line outside a shelter at a tent housing the International Organization for Migration, where officials were offering assistance for those who wanted to return to their home countries.


Story Continues Below

Officials also reported more interest from migrants wanting to start the process staying in Mexico. A job fair matching migrants with openings in Baja California saw a growing number of inquiries.


"What happened yesterday harms all of us," Oscar Leonel Mina, a 22-year-old father from San Salvador, El Salvador, said about Sunday's border clash.


Mina and his wife and their toddler daughter avoided the march and were glad they did after hearing others recount what unfolded, he said as he sat in the doorway of his family's tent at Tijuana sports complex using a toothbrush to clean the fine dust that coats everything off his sneakers.


At the tent next door, 23-year-old Brandon Castillo of Santa Rosa, Guatemala chimed in that "they say it was the whole caravan, but it wasn't the whole caravan."


TO READ THE FULL STORY

The Evening Sun

Continue reading your article with a Premium Evesun Membership

Subscribe



Comments

There are 0 comments for this article

Leave a Reply

Please Login to post a comment.