Tijuana declares ‘humanitarian crisis’ and asks for help from the United Nations as 5,000 migrants from Central America descend on the border city
The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city
Juan Manuel Gastelum has requested aid from the UN to deal with 5,000 Central American migrants who have arrived in the city as they try to reach the US
Gastelum vowed not to commit the city’s resources to deal with the situation
The Mayor criticized Trump for threatening to close down the border completely
By LEAH MCDONALD
DAILYMAIL.COM
24 November 2018
The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and is asking the United Nations for aid to deal with 5,000 Central American migrants who arrived there.
The comments by Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum came as city officials and volunteers worked together to assist the 4,976 men, women and children who traveled there and are sleeping outside and inside a sports complex.
The Trump administration has spent weeks lambasting the caravan, which it said was filled with criminals, gang members and even — it insinuated at one point without any proof — terrorists.
Manuel Figueroa, who leads the city’s social services department, said Tijuana was bringing in portable toilets and showers, as well as shampoo and soap.
‘Because of the absence, the apathy and the abandonment of the federal government, we are having to turn to international institutions like the UN’, Figueroa said.
Rene Vazquez, 60, a Tijuana resident who was volunteering at the stadium, said Mexico’s federal government ignored the problem by allowing the caravan to cross the country without stopping. Now the city of 1.6 million is stuck with the fallout.
‘I don’t have anything against the migrants, they were the most deceived, but this is affecting us all’, Vazquez said.
Gastelum vowed not to commit the city’s public resources to dealing with the situation.
On Thursday, his government issued a statement saying that it was requesting help from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Vazquez, who plays on a soccer team that uses the sports complex, said Mexico should step up now and process humanitarian visas for the group so they can start looking for work.
The Rest…HERE
