With a small group of Central American caravan members already in Tijuana, thousands of others continued their push to the U.S. border on Monday, as shelters, church leaders and government authorities in Baja California braced for their arrival.
While much of the caravan remained more than 1,500 miles from Tijuana in the western city of Guadalajara, about nine buses carrying some 300 caravan members were reported on Monday evening to be passing with police escort through Hermosillo, capital of the northern state of Sonora — fewer than 200 miles from the border city of Nogales and 540 miles from Tijuana. A video posted on a local news website showed a Honduran flag flapping from the window of one bus.
In Tijuana, a contingent of about 80 caravan participants — members of the LGBT, (lesbian gay, bisexual, and transgender) community — settled in for their second day in Tijuana at a house rented out for them by supporters in a well-to-do neighborhood near the U.S. border. They had peeled off from the main caravan after being offered bus transportation and accommodations.
Like other members of the caravan, several said they are fleeing poverty and violence, but that they were also under extreme threat because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Going back would put me at risk,” said Nelsi Teresa Ponce, 27, a trans woman who fled Comayagua, Honduras, where she was studying law. “Back there, we are not welcome, we could not leave our houses.”
Francisco Rueda Gomez, Baja California’s secretary-general, said that the arrival of the large group could be days or weeks away. As of Monday, no decision had been made as to where they would be housed. Space in shelters operated by church and civic groups in Tijuana and Mexicali is limited in the state to 1,600 spaces, he said, and some already are filled to capacity.
Rueda was interviewed by phone from Mexico City where he had been participating in a meeting called by Mexico’s Interior Ministry to coordinate efforts on the caravan; other attendees included representatives of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry, international aid groups and city officials from Tijuana and Mexicali. Gov. Francisco Vega de Lamadrid is expected to travel there on Wednesday for a follow-up meeting Mexico’s interior minister, Alfonso Navarrete Prida.
“It is very important that the federal government assume its share of responsibility,” the governor told reporters in Tijuana on Monday.
Rueda said the state of Baja California is asking the federal government to contribute 80 million pesos, about $4 million, to pay for shelter, food, health care, and humanitarian assistance to caravan members while they are in Baja California.
On Monday morning, at a bare-bones shelter in the city’s Zona Norte known as Juventud 2000, Lourdes Lizardi Lopez, a member of Angeles Sin Fronteras, also called on the federal government to step up its efforts. “It’s really a shame that Tijuana, an area of migration, doesn’t have a decent shelter, a large shelter, that is operated by the federal government.”
Some 5,000 caravan members, most of them from Honduras, agreed at an assembly in Mexico City last week that they would head to the Tijuana-San Diego border. The plan is for many to turn themselves in at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and ask the U.S. government for asylum.
Meanwhile, authorities said that three smaller caravans of Central Americans in different parts of southern Mexico are also moving north but their ultimate destination remained unclear.
The prospect of large numbers of Central Americans converging in Tijuana has been an issue of growing concern, particularly because they could spend weeks or even months in the city waiting for U.S. authorities to allow them to petition for asylum.
“Other cities have welcomed them for two or three days, but one can foresee that a good number of them will stay in Tijuana for a long period, until they are permitted access to the process of being investigated” for asylum applications, Tijuana’s Catholic Archdiocese said in a statement Friday.
Rueda said that state and local authorities want Mexico’s federal government to petition U.S. authorities to speed up processing of those who present themselves at the ports of entry.
Just the prospect of the arrival of large numbers of Central Americans already has fueled opposition of some Tijuana residents. A Facebook group, Tijuana en Contra de la Caravana Migrante (Tijuana Against the Migrant Caravan) — counted more than 1,000 members. It calls for deportation of caravan members without legal status in Mexico, a measure necessary “to avoid their causing a collapse of our region.”
In Playas de Tijuana on Monday morning, a buzz of activity surrounded a normally quiet, well-to-do residential street where caravan members have been staying in a house that unidentified supporters have been renting out for them.
Despite the upscale surroundings, several of the occupants said they have been sleeping on the floor without blankets, and had gotten little rest.
Maritza Brigitte Castro Mejia, 23, said she had been treated kindly, and human rights workers had even brought wigs and makeup for transgender residents like herself. “I am very grateful to Mexico, because we’ve received quite a bit of help.”
But group has also been the target of anger from some neighbors, who object to their presence. “Why do they have to come to this completely residential area,” asked Gloria Martinez, who lives across the street. “Why did they have to come here? Just now, I saw one in a bikini taking out the trash.”
Several of those interviewed said that attorneys in the United States and Mexico had paid for their transportation and accommodations, but were not quite who. A Texas-based nonprofit agency, RAICES, that offers low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees, said Monday that raised the funds to purchase 77 bus tickets, pay for four nights at the Airbnb, and send a legal team to Mexico.
Leidi Mejia, 23, who fled her town of 11,000 in eastern Honduras, said her partner back home had been murdered and she had received death threats. She is preparing to ask for political asylum in the United States.
“I know it won’t be easy, but it doesn’t matter how long we must wait,” she said. “I want to live in a country where laws are respected, and where one can live in peace and tranquility.”
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(““I know it won’t be easy, but it doesn’t matter how long we must wait,” she said. “I want to live in a country where laws are respected, and where one can live in peace and tranquility.”)
It is easy to understand the misunderstanding of the illegal transients….due to their criminal trespassing (caravan Norte)…they have been unable to adequately view our voting process, or they would not have been so quick to assume, that due to many of our corrupted leaders (and their equally conniving and duped sheeplets) who espouse criminal activities in achieving their goals, actually have little to no respect for the laws they have sworn to uphold and abide by. The resulting chaos and national division they will be entering are the resulting byproduct for which such corruption,..coupled with their own marauding invasion….are responsible.
So she wants to live in a country “where laws are respected, and where one can live in peace and tranquility?” I guess that would be AFTER “she” gets done violating our laws to ILLEGALLY enter our country, and she and her THOUSANDS of fellow INVADERS commit a MASS ASSAULT on our border to force their way in, right? Then AFTER THAT, they will all SUDDENLY become law-abiding citizens, who would not STEAL somebody else’s identity or SS number to get a job and/or WELFARE benefits. Right? Recent history does NOT confirm her really STUPID and NAIVE statement!
With how often libs break the law, and keep getting away with it.. I CAN’T see how anyone in their right mind can call America “a country where the rule of law is respected”!
93% of the Invaders are young people ( see picture on top ) . Innocent Americans will be raped , assaulted, killed and burned . Do not let them in ; send them back .
Obama started this mess : jump the fence , come here and I will give you everything , education , medicals , housing , food ; work under the table , send $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ back home ; All paid by stupid Americans .
Funny, she “wants to live in a country where laws are respected”, yet she will break the law to get in, and likely break the law repeatedly (false identity, stolen SS number, fraudulent applications for Govt. benefits, lying under oath in an attempt to gain asylum status not entitled to under existing law). If the “laws were respected” in this country, she would not be allowed in this way.
These people are primitives. What is most important to most of them is producing as many children as possible, and enjoying the government forcing someone else to support them.
That is why there should be
A) NO MORE birthright citizenship
and B) NO MORE welfare of anysort for illegal invaders.
These Fake CENTRAL American asylum seekers, unlike Fake Mexican asylum seekers who claim being threatened with death if sent home, CAN be ejected back in safe haven Mexico,,,,unless their real objective was to break American law and seek ECONOMIC advantages (Not a valid reason to grant asylum) and they become self-created illegal immigrant Whack-a-moles who upon their third or fourth illegal capture inside our borders MUST be punished with work prisons, and heavy fines. People in Prisons in Mexico have to work for their food or starve.
When they crash across our border it’s going to be an MSM fake news film fest! Lots of pictures and stories about the poor “immigrants” who just want to invade us to live in peace and tranquility while completely disrupting our peace and tranquility with their diseases, language barriers, drugs, gangs, and demands on our welfare and prison system. It will be chaos but the MSM fakers will have a field day and dimocraps will gain more votes!
Times like this, i’d love to have the power to summon fourth hundreds of ancient red dragons, and have them just SCORCH EARTH the entire border, up to 1 mile into Mexico.. AND LEAVE IT that way.
The invaders are heading for California instead of Texas because they know the gates will open and they will be welcomed as conquering heroes by anti-American state and local governments.
And when the illegals arrive in California by the thousands and find out they were lied to, they will torch every city and forest in revenge. Oh, seems like that already is occurring. They will Reconquista the same burned out desert the Spanish Conquistadors found when they arrived with everyone just living like nomads in tents and tent cities, under highways and cluttered campgrounds. And these stone aged minded stone headed tree hugging turned tree burning Liberals dare to describe themselves a progressive?
Apparently, according to this story, Baja, California is ALREADY letting them in, Leonidas!
This is why i keep wanting a wall to be built ALONG CA’s border, sealing IT OFF from the rest of the US.
So this caravan of SEVEN THOUSAND people is made up of mostly gays, transsexuals and OTHER assorted deviants who are “fleeing persecution” because of their “sexual orientation?” WHEN did this caravan suddenly morph into another “gay pride” parade? And, if P res. Trump say they can’t come in, WHY is Baja, California not only letting them in, but providing them housing, food, etc? And of course, we’re expected to welcome this FREAK PARADE with open arms? Pres. Trump was RIGHT when he said, “They’re not sending their best!” wasn’t he!
I doubt if it is mostly lgbt. There’s a group of them in the caravan and the leftist media thinks they can raise sympathy for them because they are suffering so much more than others. Gag. The other sympathy group is women and children. Any woman who would put a child into danger in this way deserves something a lot worse than sympathy, IMO.
The media ignores that the great majority of illegals are young men poised to raise our crime rate again.
Hell i doubt even 1% of 1% of them are LGBTQ..
Baja, California is a state in Mexico. Not the USA.
Sorry–it was the “California” part that threw me!
THEY expect OUR government to fork over $4 Million to support them while in Baja
this is BULL!!! WE do not owe these people one dime.. THEY choose to make this
journey … let them pay for themselves!!! or contact their organizers and let THEM
pay… I’m fed up with our politicians placing the burden of illegal aliens on the tax payers…. send them back where they came from if they cannot support themselves
I’d love to see the military at the border, with tear gas and rubber bullets, repelling this invasion. I’d also love to see the liberals, crying about the insensitivity and heartless violence, etc. I’d get a good laugh at it.
I think anyone who supports this invasion of our nation should be held accountable…as in, you want them in, YOU pay for it, you house them, feed them, etc.
I know I don’t want them, so why the hell should I pay for it?
Screw teargas and rubber bullets. USE LIVE AMMO!
AMEN!!! we should NOT be spending ONE dime on ANY illegal aliens.. PERIOD!!! I’m sick of our tax dollars supporting these people who have NO right to be here… Let the pro-illegal idiots support them.. OUR tax dollars need to go to taking care of American Citizens… NOT some illegal aliens who come to take advantage of our country
And any country who aids illegals in their trek here, should be permanently cut off from receiving one US DOLLAR.
They MUST not be allowed to enter the US
And let’s not forget WHO they want to pay for their operations. They certainly don’t have the money to pay for their sex change operations, so who does that leave to pay for it. Think about that. maybe the people from the rich neighborhood will pay for it.
This is NOT immigration, rather it is an INVASION into our once great country!
Time to SHUT DOWN our southern border and STOP ALL FEDERAL-AID going to foreign countries. Start charging a 25% REMITTANCE FEE ON ALL MONEY BEING SENT TO MEXICO, and other Central American countries.
BOYCOTT MEXICO, and other Central American countries!!!
END DACA, End Chain Migration, End Anchor babies, Make E-VERIFY MANDATORY, REDUCE the number of legal immigrants entering the USA, CLOSE LOOPHOLES in our immigration laws, End TPS, Build the Wall, and ENFORCE our current immigration laws.
DEPORT THEM BACK TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY IMMEDIATELY!
We have and are being INVADED by some 30 million plus ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS, and now we MUST STOP this continued invasion in its tracks.
The invasion started before 1986 and has continued to this day, only many times the total each year going even higher of ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS entering the US ILLEGALLY.
Time to put our military on our southern border and finally put a STOP to this insane madness. If that means separating children from their parents in order to prosecute the ILLEGAL INVADERS, then so be it!
Supposedly Trump’s threatened to cut off all aid, SEVERAL TIMES already.
WE ARE STILL WAITING On him to act on those threats.
AMEN!!
They were offered asylum in Mexico and turned it down. Beggars can’t be choosers, they should have accepted the offer of asylum, when it was given to them. they are coming here for our welfare benefits and our tax dollars!
Asylum, by international law only goes to the first country an asylum seeker enters. As you stated though, Mexico made a very generous offer, independent of the law. They have no valid claim for gaining entry to the Unites States.
THEN STOP giving a hoot what the media says and ENFORCE The bloody law..
I thought the same thing, but was reading, that they can still seek asylum here, BUT it has to be a valid reason .. cannot be because they want a job… Mexico was going to give them jobs.. let them go there… the problem is, they want us to support them.. the come to take advantage of our country.. I’m sick of supporting illegal aliens.. we spend well OVER $100 billion of our tax dollars EVERY year to take care of illegal aliens who have NO right to be here… we should NOT be spending ONE time on any illegal aliens.. STOP ALL the free handouts and many would not come…
Then we need to repeal THAT law.. Go by international only.
And next week, they will all walk across the border into Mexifornia.
And commiefornian’s will welcome them with open arms, CA drivers licenses, EBT cards etc..
Well, well, well. T.J. Now you know where they are headed. The great sanctuary state of californication!
“It’s really a shame that Tijuana, an area of migration, doesn’t have a decent shelter, a large shelter, that is operated by the federal government.”
More immigration Law Enforcement on the southern Mexican border sounds more reasonable.
We saw just how “effective” their border enforcement was.. Just sending more officers won’t do jack, to change things..
I meant law enforcement not re-enforcement and support of the invaders which is what the Federales have been doing.
BUT if what they’ve already done, shows us they care NOT about law enforcement, just re-inforcement’, what’s the point in sending MORE down?
do you expect other’s to do anything different?
I guess I’m thinking about the theoretical choke point being as far south as possible to prevent the need for building more and more accommodations for invaders.
Clearly, you are correct about the reality.
No one built accommodations for the Crusades. I wonder if white Europeans may sue for reparations…with interest?
The caption from AP under the photo is hilarious. They claim that the poor gay and alphabet groups are subject to catcalls and harassment.
Now, take a look at the goons on the truck as they pass the girls.
I wonder what those “would be citizens of your neighborhood” are saying to the girls? Probably something really encouraging. Something having to do with the girl’s perceived ability to serve some base function for the riders, perhaps?
I can’t wait until they are all enrolled in local schools so we may offer our daughters a more diverse world perspective.
I hope you all voted YES! on school levies. They will need the money for extra world language classes…for teachers.
Hey, Tijuana! So now it’s your turn to feel what it’s like to be invaded, like the northern side of border has had to deal with for decades.
Good luck!
( she said. “I want to live in a country where laws are respected, and where one can live in peace and tranquility.”)
YET, she and the others have NO respect for our laws … with their plans to crash our borders…
And being we ALL saw just how well ‘they respected’ the law, when they broke down that fence going INTO mexico, and assaulted those cops, they CERTAINLY are showing the Opposite of ‘respect for the law!”
We have seen the Mexican government machine gun college students in the streets. For some reason the invaders have no fear of that happening to them.
And why is that?? BECAUSE the mexican gov’t cares NOT about stopping them.
they want OUR government to pay $4 million to support them.. BULL!!! THEY ARE NOT OUR RESPONSIBILITY… !!!! I’M SICK OF SUPPORTING ILLEGAL ALIENS!!! WE DO NOT OWE THEM A DIME!!! THEY CHOOSE TO MAKE THIS JOURNEY – LET THEM SUPPORT THEMSELVES OR ASK THEIR ORGANIZERS TO PAY FOR IT ALL…
Gee, Hispanic, poor, mostly unskilled and illiterate. Why not throw in AIDS, wheelchairs, crutches, a couple of iron lungs and kids with flies on their faces? Where in the world is Sally Struthers when ya need her? How ’bout Dian Fossey, Rachel Carson and ALGORE? While we’re at it, how could the Reverend Al, Jorge Ramos, Luis Gutierrez and all the rest of the victim mongering, race baiting poverty pimps miss out on this?
We could have stopped this much earlier if we had just sent toilet paper south. I mean I’d walk 1,000 miles to switch from leaves to Charmin. I’d ride a truck even further.
May be our only option is to send their un-earned Social Security to their old home address in South Sh***ole to entice them to go back?
Why should we send ANY MORE money than we already give these countries?
HELL, imo we should cut ALL funds we send them, as is!
I hope the President has sent thousands of troop along the California and Arizona borders with Mexico. In the meantime the President should close all border entry points until the President of Mexico arrests these interlopers and return them to their countries. At least force them to leave Mexico and build a fence that can’t be torn down by illiterate peasants. They are not our citizens and we have no responsibility to accept them. If we do we can expect five billion more of the world’s poor that will expect the same acceptance. Sorry Dems, but your plan to have thousands of new votes while our beleaguered citizens have to pay for them through higher and higher taxes is not going to happen.