Rumors Drive More Mexican Migrants to Tijuana Border Seeking US Asylum El Jefazo - The Fulano Forum | |
go to original June 26, 2016 |
There are families with babies and small children, but most are adults, who hide from the sun, the news media cameras, and the curious. (El Sol de Tijuana)
The rumor that the United States can provide political asylum has not stopped and migrants continue arriving in Tijuana, fleeing the violence. Once again this Saturday there were more than 180 near the San Ysidro border station, waiting to cross into the United States, and to add to the problem, the capacities of the shelters are overwhelmed, and many have to sleep on the street.
As all have the same objective, they have created a list so that when the American authorities come, they enter in the order in which they arrived, although the Americans give priority to foreigners over Mexicans.
Most of the fugitives from violence come from the Southern states of Michoacán, Guerrero and Chiapas. Now there are less foreigners coming, but there are people from Guatemala, Cuba, and some recall seeing people from the Mideast. There are families with babies and small children, but most are adults, who hide from the sun and the news media cameras, and the curious.
Some say the reason whey they are here is that they did not pay extortion money, or because they do not want their children recruited by the organized crime groups.
At first those who arrived with the intention of asylum settled in front of the entrance into the United States, around 20 feet from the pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro. But this caused a health problem with urine, lack of cleanliness and other reasons. For that reason, they were moved by municipal police, but all they managed to achieve was to move them back a little, about 100 yards from the pedestrian entrance.
The migrants said they will not leave because they could be allowed to enter the US at any moment and do not want to startle their relatives if they are separated when they are called and will not stop trying to get asylum.
Less foreigners and more opportunists
On the money side of this, the municipal authorities say there are less foreigners who are waiting and more opportunists who want to enter the United States.
The director of Migrant Services in Tijuana, Rosarito Lozada Romero, reported that every day they come to count the people and in the late afternoon the come to take those they can to shelters or some place to sleep. Just as of this morning, out of the 141 people they found, a little more than 60 do not want to identify themselves, nor any proof they are fleeing like they said. This places in doubt the truth of some of their stories.
"Many of them are residents of Tijuana, we have detected there are no lack of people who are selling positions in line, and they are selling spaces. When the authorities arrive, they say they just arrived, so we check them out, we offer them plane or bus tickets, and in this manner we can detect of they are recent arrivals or have been here for some time," she said.
See the original at The Fulano Forum
Related: Tijuana Shelters Cope with Spike of Asylum Seekers (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Related: American Dream Turns to Nightmare for Undocumented Immigrants (Agence France-Presse)
Related: Mexico: Desperate Migrants Provided Refuge in Shelter Homes (Siasat)
Related: Fearing Violence, LGBT Refugees Rarely Seek Help (IPS News)
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