"Humanitarian crisis" declared as 5,000 migrants reach Tijuana

TIJUANA, Mexico – The mayor of Tijuana declared a "humanitarian crisis" in his border town and said he had asked for help from the United Nations to deal with the 5,000 or so Central American migrants who arrived in the city. Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum said the Mexican federal government had provided little assistance and that it would not commit the city's public resources to deal with the situation.

Gastelum told Grupo Formula radio on Friday that Tijuana did not have the necessary infrastructure to properly handle migrants. On Thursday, his government issued a statement stating that he was seeking the assistance of the United States Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Gastelum says: "I will not spend Tijuana money (citizens)."

Gastelum's statement comes one day after President Trump on the occasion of Thanksgiving. threat of closure of US border with Mexico during an undisclosed period if his administration determines that his Southern ally has lost "control" on his side.

This week, a memorandum signed by the White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, said the Pentagon had the authority to allow troops to use force, including deadly force, to protect federal personnel at the border if necessary. The memo, dated Tuesday, indicates that troops at the border "may exercise military protection activities that the Secretary of Defense deems reasonably necessary to ensure the protection of federal personnel, including the use of demonstration or recourse to force (including lethal force, if any), crowd control, pre-trial detention and superficial search ".

"The deployed military personnel should not, without further instructions from you, conduct traditional civilian activities such as arrests, searches and seizures as part of law enforcement," says the memo obtained by the national security of CBS News. correspondent David Martin.