Politics

Government suspends California's border as migrants march toward US border in show of force

Sunday, November 25, 2018
Several hundred Central American migrants on Sunday pushed past a blockade of Mexican police standing guard near the international border crossing between Tijuana and California.
TIJUANA, Mexico -- Migrants approaching the U.S. border from Mexico were enveloped with tear gas Sunday after a few tried to breach the fence separating the two countries.

U.S. agents shot the gas, according to an Associated Press reporter on the scene. Children were screaming and coughing in the mayhem.
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Honduran migrant Ana Zuniga, 23, said she saw migrants open a small hole in concertina wire at a gap on the Mexican side of a levee, at which point U.S. agents fired tear gas at them.

"We ran, but when you run the gas asphyxiates you more," she told the AP while cradling her 3-year-old daughter Valery in her arms.

A group of Central American migrants gets over a fence as they try to reach the US-Mexico border near the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25, 2018.AP
Migrants run from tear gas launched by U.S. agents, amid members of the press at the Mexico-U.S. border at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Tear gas thrown by the US Border Patrol to disperse migrants after an alleged verbal dispute is seen near the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, November 25, 2018.AP
Migrants try to push past Mexican police on the Mexico-U.S. border at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, as they try to reach the U.S.AP
Central American migrants -mostly from Honduras- cross the shallow concrete waterway of the bordering Tijuana River as they try to reach the El Chaparral border crossing.AP
Mexican federal police stand guard over a migrant wearing a Virgen of Guadalupe cloth at the Mexico-U.S. border in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Central American migrants run along the Tijuana River near the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, near US-Mexico border.AP
A group of Central American migrants crosses over a fence as they try to reach the border fence between Mexico and the United States, in Tijuana, November 25, 2018.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants crosses the almost dry riverbed of the Tijuana River in an attempt to get to El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana, November 25, 2018.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants crosses the almost dry riverbed of the Tijuana River in an attempt to get to El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana, November 25, 2018.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants climbs the border fence between Mexico and the United States as others try to bring it down in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25, 2018.Creative Content
A United States Military helicopter flies past a pedestrian bridge after the closing of the US-Mexico border was ordered on November 25, 2018, at the San Ysidro border crossing.Creative Content
United States Military personnel and Border Patrol agents secure the United States-Mexico border on November 25, 2018, at the San Ysidro border crossing point south of San Diego.Creative Content
United States Border Patrol agents secure the United States-Mexico border on November 25, 2018, at the San Ysidro border crossing point south of San Diego, California.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants climbs the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico.Creative Content
United States Military personnel and Border Patrol agents secure the United States-Mexico border on November 25, 2018, at the San Ysidro border crossing point south of San Diego.Creative Content
Mexican police try to keep migrants from advancing toward the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, near the San Ysidro entry point into the U.S.AP
Migrants push past Mexican federal police at the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, as they try to reach the U.S.AP
Migrants cross the river at the Mexico-U.S. border after getting past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Migrants run toward the U.S. after breaking past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 25, 2018, near the San Ysidro entry point.AP
A group of Central American migrants crosses the almost-dry riverbed of the Tijuana River in an attempt to get to El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants crosses the almost-dry riverbed of the Tijuana River in an attempt to get to El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana.Creative Content
A group of Central American migrants crosses the almost-dry riverbed of the Tijuana River in an attempt to get to El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana.Creative Content
Migrants cross a riverbed at the Mexico-U.S. border after getting past a line of police at the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Migrants walk up a riverbank at the Mexico-U.S. border after getting past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Mexican police spread out as they try to keep migrants from getting past the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Migrants cross the river at the Mexico-U.S. border after getting past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP
Migrants break past a line of police as they run toward the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, near the San Ysidro entry point.AP
Migrants push past Mexican police at the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, as they try to reach the U.S.AP
Mexican police spread out as they try to keep migrants from getting past the Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.AP


Mexico's Milenio TV also showed images of several migrants at the border trying to jump over the fence. A few yards away on the U.S. side, shoppers streamed in and out of an outlet mall.



U.S. Border Patrol helicopters flew overhead, while U.S. agents held vigil on foot beyond the wire fence in California. The Border Patrol office in San Diego said via Twitter that pedestrian crossings have been suspended at the San Ysidro port of entry at both the East and West facilities. All northbound and southbound traffic was halted.
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Earlier Sunday, some Central American migrants pushed past a blockade of Mexican police who were standing guard near the international border crossing. They appeared to easily pass through without using violence, and some of the migrants called on each other to remain peaceful.

A second line of Mexican police carrying plastic riot shields stood guard outside a Mexican customs and immigration plaza.

RELATED: Tijuana declares 'humanitarian crisis,' seeks help from UN
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That line of police had installed tall steel panels behind them outside the Chaparral crossing on the Mexican side of the border.

More than 5,000 migrants have been camped in and around a sports complex in Tijuana after making their way through Mexico in recent weeks via caravan. Many hope to apply for asylum in the U.S., but agents at the San Ysidro entry point are processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day.

Irineo Mujica, who has accompanied the migrants for weeks as part of the aid group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said the aim of Sunday's march toward the U.S. border was to make the migrants' plight more visible to the governments of Mexico and the U.S.



"We can't have all these people here," Mujica told The Associated Press.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on Friday declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city of 1.6 million, which he says is struggling to accommodate the crush of migrants.
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