Showdown: Hundreds Of “Caravan” Migrants Set To Enter California As US Threatens Mass Arrests
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 04/26/2018
Hundreds of migrants who continued the journey north after a “caravan” of Central American immigrants disbanded earlier this month after being singled out by President Trump have now reunited at a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, Reuters reported. And if they have their druthers, many of them will be inside the US by the end of the weekend.
After crossing through Mexicali earlier this week, the migrants have been gathering in Tijuana since Tuesday. Most members of the group are from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras, and are fleeing their homes, they say, because of death threats from local gangs, or political persecution.
So many migrants have arrived at the shelter in Tijuana this week that it was overflowing by the end of the day on Wednesday. While some rested in tents, others walked up to the border fence and looked across, giddy at the sight of American soil after a month-long journey across Mexico.
As Reuters pointed out, the timing of their arrival could sabotage NAFTA talks after President Trump repeatedly threatened to scrap the deal if Mexico doesn’t do more to stop Central American migrants from traveling through its territory.
Moving from town to town, the migrant caravan became a stumbling block for U.S.-Mexico relations after Trump unleashed a series of tweets in early April, telling Mexican authorities to stop them. More busloads of migrants arrived during the course of the day, overflowing the first shelter.
Local migrant aid groups said it was the biggest single group they had seen arrive together as they scrambled to find places in ten shelters.
“Thanks to god we’re here,” said 34-year-old Aide Hernandez from Guatemala who had four children in tow. She said she planned to seek asylum in the United State. When asked why, she looked down, ashamed to detail a case of domestic abuse.
[…]
“The wall doesn’t look that tall,” said Kimberly George, a 15-year-old girl from Honduras as she looked toward a stunted barrier a few feet away. “I really want to cross it.”
Volunteers from the US-based advocacy group Pueblos Sin Fronteras tried to gather the migrants to discuss a plan to cross over the main pedestrian bridge into the US. The crossing would take place on Sunday, according to the group’s plan. But the migrants responded angrily when the group recommended crossing in smaller in groups over a more spread-out period of time.
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