Central American 'Caravan' Migrants to Seek Asylum at US-Mexico Border

Alicia A. Caldwell

April 29, 2018 7:00 a.m. ET

TIJUANA, Mexico—Hundreds of Central American migrants are expected to make their way to the border crossing here Sunday morning and ask for refuge in the U.S.

The migrants are part of a caravan that has drawn the attention, and ire, of President Donald Trump. The president has said the group’s plan to seek asylum is evidence that there is a crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Their march to the border brings to the end a nearly monthlong trip from Central America and across Mexico.

Many of the migrants in the group have said they plan to ask for asylum at the port of entry and won’t be crossing the border illegally. However, Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said several groups of people associated with the caravan had illegally crossed the border by climbing over a scrap-metal fence on either side of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The migrants arrived by bus in various groups starting last week and took up residence in shelters around Tijuana, not far from the border. At the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter, more than 130 Central Americans stayed in tents inside the tin-roofed building within view of the border. Ana Suaso, a Honduran woman who was traveling with three of her children, said Thursday she was ready to make the final push to U.S.

“I’m ready to go,” she said, standing outside the shelter.

It is possible that the parents, if detained, may be separated from their children. The government is prohibited from jailing children, and the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t have a blanket policy about separating asylum seekers from their kids, though officials have said it is being considered. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the government to stop the practice of separating some parents and children who are seeking asylum at the border.

Mr. Trump has urged Mexico to stop the caravan and has deployed the National Guard to the border to help the U.S. Border Patrol secure the area. He has repeatedly tweeted about the group, at times praising Mexican authorities after the group seemed to slow and later pledging to stop them from crossing the border.

In a fundraising email sent to supporters this week, Mr. Trump said he has directed the Department of Homeland Security to “STOP the caravan of illegal immigrants trying to cross our WIDE-OPEN BORDER” and calling again for an “impenetrable WALL.”

It wasn’t clear how the administration plans to stop the caravan.

Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has said her agency would “enforce the immigration laws” and prosecute people who cross the border illegally. She also said her agency would make sure the “necessary resources” were in place to handle the influx of asylum seekers.

DHS officials didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday about what resources were being sent to the border.

Immigration and civil-rights advocates have pledged to make sure those in the caravan get their chance to ask for asylum at the port. But it was unclear if everyone in the group would be allowed to apply for asylum on Sunday, as planned.

Brian Griffey, a regional researcher and adviser with Amnesty International, said Customs and Border Protection officials have in the past limited the number of asylum seekers agents processed on any given day when large groups show up.

“It’s a little bit of a wait-and-see game,” said Mr. Griffey, who along with other rights advocates planned to be at the border on Sunday.

Write to Alicia A. Caldwell at Alicia.Caldwell@wsj.com

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