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Hundreds of Tijuana residents gathered Sunday around a monument in an affluent part of the southern California city to protest the thousands of Central Americans arrived by caravan in the US. hope for a new life in the United States.
The tension has settled as nearly 3,000 caravan migrants have flocked to Tijuana in recent days, after more than a month 's drive and several months before they apply for asylum. The federal government estimates that the number of migrants could soon increase to 10,000.
US border inspectors handle about 100 asylum applications a day at the main Tijuana border crossing to San Diego. Asylum seekers record their names on a ragged notebook run by migrants themselves, which numbered more than 3,000 names even before the arrival of the caravan.
On Sunday, disgruntled Tijuana residents waved Mexican flags, sang the Mexican national anthem and chanted "Out! Outside! In front of a statue of Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc, 1.6 km from the US border. They accused the migrants of being disorganized, ungrateful and constituting a danger for Tijuana. They also complained about how the caravan forced its way into Mexico, calling it an "invasion". And they expressed concern that their taxes could be spent on taking care of the group.
"We do not want them in Tijuana," protesters shouted.
Juana Rodriguez, a housewife, said the government needed to conduct a background check on migrants to make sure they had no criminal record.
A woman who called Paloma criticized the migrants who she said came to Mexico in search of documents. "Let their government take care of them," she told reporters covering the protests.
One block, less than a dozen residents of Tijuana showed their support to the migrants. Keila Samarron, a 38-year-old teacher, said the protesters did not represent her thinking because she was holding a sign saying: "Childhood does not have a border."
Most of the migrants who reached Tijuana by caravan in recent days left Honduras more than a month ago from Honduras, a country of 9 million inhabitants. Dozens of migrants in the caravan who were interviewed by Associated Press reporters said they left their country after receiving death threats.
But the trip was difficult and many returned.
Alden Rivera, Honduras' ambassador to Mexico, told AP on Saturday that 1,800 Hondurans have returned to their country since the launch of the caravan on Oct. 13, and that he hopes others people will make that decision. "We want them to come back to Honduras," Rivera said.
Honduras has a murder rate of 43 per 100,000, similar to that of American cities like New Orleans and Detroit. In addition to violence, migrants in the caravan mentioned the poor economic outlook as a motivating factor for their departure. Per capita income is around $ 120 a month in Honduras, where, according to the World Bank, two out of three people live in poverty.
The expected long stay of migrants in Tijuana has raised concerns about the border city's capacity of more than 1.6 million people to manage the influx.
While many people in Tijuana are sensitive to the plight of migrants and are trying to help them, some locals have shouted insults, thrown stones and even fisticuffs. The cold welcome contrasts sharply with the warmth that accompanied the migrants to southern Mexico, where the inhabitants of small towns welcomed them with hot food, campsites and even live music.
The mayor of Tijuana, Juan Manuel Gastelum, described the arrival of migrants as "avalanche" that the city is ill-prepared to handle. They calculated that they would stay in Tijuana for at least six months while waiting to file an asylum application. Gastelum appealed to the federal government to receive more help to cope with this influx.
The Mexican Ministry of the Interior said Saturday that the federal government was carrying food and blankets for migrants to Tijuana.
Tijuana officials converted a municipal gymnasium and recreation complex into a shelter to prevent migrants from accessing public spaces. The private shelters in the city have a maximum capacity of 700 people. The municipal complex can accommodate up to 3,000 people.
At the municipal shelter, Josue Caseres, 24, expressed dismay at protests against the caravan. "We are fleeing violence," said the artist from Santa Barbara, Honduras. "How can they think we will come here to be violent?"
Some members of the caravan headed to other border towns, such as Mexicali, a few hours east of Tijuana.
US President Donald Trump, who wanted to make the caravan a campaign issue in the midterm elections, used Twitter Sunday to express his support for the mayor of Tijuana and try to discourage migrants from seeking to enter the United States .
Trump wrote that, like Tijuana, "the United States is ill prepared for this invasion and will not tolerate it. They cause crimes and big problems in Mexico. Go home!"
He followed this tweet by writing: "Catch and Release is an obsolete term. It's now Catch and Detain. Illegal immigrants attempting to enter the United States, often proudly displaying the flag of their country when they seek asylum in the United States, will be arrested or refused. "
