US starts admitting asylum seekers from Central American train in Mexico despite Donald Trump’s fury
Parents in the group, which travelled to the US border from southern Mexico, have been told they may be separated from their kids for several months during processing
A group of Central American asylum seekers who crossed Mexico in a caravan to reach the US are now starting to enter America for processing, ending a brief impasse over lack of space – and despite criticism from US President Donald Trump. But parents in the group have been told that they may be separated from their children.
Caravan organisers said eight members of the group, which had travelled from southern Mexico to the border city of Tijuana, were allowed in to be interviewed by asylum officers, but US Customs and Border Protection did not provide a number.
About 140 others were still waiting in Mexico to turn themselves in at San Diego’s San Isidro border crossing, the nation’s busiest, said Alex Mensing, project organiser for Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which is leading the caravan.
“The spirits are high, there was good news for everybody,” Mensing said on the Mexican side of the crossing, moments after learning that some were allowed in.
US lawyers who volunteered advice in Tijuana last week warned the Central Americans that parents may be separated from their children and be detained for many months while their asylum cases are pending.
Asylum seekers are typically held up to three days at the border and turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If they pass initial screenings by asylum officers, they may be detained or released with ankle monitors while their cases wind through immigration court, which can take years.