Migrant ‘Caravan' Gathers on US-Mexico Border in Tijuana
By Gerardo Carrillo and Elliot Spagat ••
Migrants who arrived in Tijuana by caravan are expected to cross the San Ysidro border this Sunday. NBC 7’s Alex Presha has the details.
What to Know
The group was sleeping in tents and attending legal seminars given by volunteer attorneys from the U.S. about seeking asylum
They plan to try to enter the U.S. on Sunday at San Diego's border crossing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing
About 370 asylum-seekers are in Tijuana, where lawyers have planned free workshops on the U.S. immigration system on Friday and Saturday.
The group of migrants, many from Central America, reached the border town on Tuesday and have been sleeping in tents and attending legal seminars given by volunteer attorneys.
On Sunday, the group plans to seek asylum at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing.
The president has repeatedly called the group a threat to national security. NBC 7's Alex Presha reports from San Ysidro.
Caravans have been a fairly common tactic for advocacy groups to bring attention to asylum-seekers and the latest group pales in size compared to previous ones, but it gained huge visibility after President Donald Trump criticized it from the moment it began March 25.
The caravan has been described as "dangerous" by President Donald Trump and was mentioned as one of the reasons he asked for National Guard troops to be sent to the border region.
The president tweeted this week that he has issued orders "not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is a disgrace."
Last week, Telemundo 20 spoke with the first of hundreds who were expected to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Many Central American asylum seekers say they face death threats by criminal gangs in their homelands.
Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said late Wednesday that any person trying to cross into the U.S. who makes false claims to immigration authorities will subject to criminal prosecution.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump reviews border wall prototypes, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego.
NBC News
President Trump holds up a poster showing the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego in the 1990s (left), when people from Mexico could, in his words, "pour in." He said the building of even an unsophisticated wall at the border has greatly improved safety.
AP
President Donald Trump speaks during a tour as he reviews border wall prototypes, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego.
David McNew/Getty Images
A man tears up a Mexican flag that was taken from a counter protester as supporters of President Donald Trump rally for the president during his visit to see the controversial border wall prototypes on March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California. The border visit was also his first visit to the state of California as president.
Gregory Bull/AP
Roberto Perez Garcia of Mexico participates in a rally against the border wall on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in Tijuana, Mexico. President Trump made a visit to the site of the border wall prototypes on the U.S. side, which can be seen from where the protesters gathered on the Mexico side.
Danielle Radin/NBC 7 San Diego
Dozens of San Diego police officers secure protest zones to prepare for a visit from President Donald Trump in Otay Mesa, California, on March 13, 2018.
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Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump rally for the president during his visit to see the controversial border wall prototypes on March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California.
Kyusung Gong/AP
A protester holds up a sign during President Donald Trump's visit to the site of border wall prototypes, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
President Donald Trump's supporters rally for the president during his visit to see border wall prototypes on March 13, 2018 in San Diego, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
President Donald Trump's supporters sing the national anthem as they rally for the president during his visit to see border wall prototypes on March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump reviews border wall prototypes, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California.
Kyusung Gong/AP
Lauren Rees holds up a sign before President Donald Trump's visit on March 13, 2018, to view border wall prototypes in San Diego, California. One group of protesters chanted, “No ban! No wall!” near the San Ysidro border crossing, where tens of thousands of people enter the U.S. daily from Tijuana, Mexico — many on their way to work or school in San Diego.
TELEMUNDO 20
President Donald Trump visits prototypes of his proposed border wall in Otay Mesa in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2018.
TELEMUNDO 20
President Donald Trump visits prototypes of his proposed border wall in Otay Mesa near San Diego, California, on March 13, 2018.
Telemundo 20
Signs opposing the president's border wall on the Mexico side of U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego on March 13, 2018.
Telemundo 20
A look at the U.S.-Mexico border from the Mexico side on March 13, 2018, ahead of President Donald Trump's visit.
Artie Ojeda/NBC 7 San Diego
A demonstrator stands near a road that leads to the site of prototypes of POTUS' proposed border wall in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California, March 13, 2018.
Artie Ojeda/NBC 7 San Diego
Supporters of President Trump gathered near a road that leads to the prototypes of the proposed border wall in Otay Mesa, San Diego, California, March 13, 2018.
Artie Ojeda/NBC 7 San Diego
Supporters and protestors of President Donald Trump gathered in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California, ahead of POTUS' visit, March 13, 2018.
NBC 7 San Diego
A protestor's sign in Otay Mesa in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2018.
NBC 7 San Diego
Demonstrators hold signs in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, on March 13, 2018.
NBC 7 San Diego
Demonstrators hold signs to protest the president's proposed border wall in San Diego, California, March 13, 2018.
AP
President Donald Trump arrives to speak to service members at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego.
NBC News
"Your devotion fills our allies and our families with confidence. Your courage fills our enemies with dread," President Trump said to troops at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, March 13, 2018.
NBC 7
President Trump waves after landing at Brown Field Municipal Airport in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, March 13, 2018.
MCAS Miramar/Twitter
The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar tweeted this photo of President Donald Trump on March 13, 2018, in San Diego, California.
MCAS Miramar/Twitter
The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar tweeted this photo of President Donald Trump disembarking his plane on March 13, 2018.
MCAS Miramar/Twitter
The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar tweeted a photo of President Donald Trump's plane landing on March 13, 2018.
