Tuesday, 8th October 2024

Mexico to deport migrant group which tried to illegally enter US

According to the interior ministry, Mexico will deport up to 500 migrants, who storm the US border on Sunday

Sunday, 25th November 2018

The Central American migrant group which tried to illegally enter in the US by attempting to storm the US border will be deported by Mexico. According to the interior ministry, Mexico will deport up to 500 migrants, who storm the US border on Sunday.

The group were rounded up after trying to cross the border "violently" and "illegally" on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

In a video footage, dozens of people including women and children were seen running towards the fence that separates the two countries near the city of Tijuana. They were repelled by tear gas used by US border officers.

Mexico's interior ministry said in a statement that a group of "nearly 500 migrants" had "tried to cross the border in a violent way". Those identified as having taken part in these "violent events" would be deported immediately, it said.

"Far from helping their objectives", the migrants' actions had violated the legal migration framework and could have led to a "serious incident," the ministry added.

Tensions have been high in Tijuana since the arrival of thousands of migrants earlier this month. The migrants are in Tijuana after travelling more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Central America.

They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

However, they now face a long wait to see if their asylum applications will be accepted by the US, with President Donald Trump vowing to keep each migrant on the Mexican side of the border until courts have decided their case. This could take months.

Amid growing desperation on Sunday, the group of about 500 migrants - who had been taking part in a peaceful protest for the right to seek political asylum in the US - made a run for the border.

Mexico's Home Secretary, Alfonso Navarrete, said the group had asked for help to organise the demonstration, but had reportedly been encouraged by some of the movement's leaders to split into different groups and try to cross into the US.