A migrant family running away from tear gas released by US border patrol agents near the fence between Tijuana in Mexico, and San Diego of US — CNN TIJUANA, Nov 26 (Agencies): US agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of Central American migrants who climbed over a fence and attempted to rush the border from Tijuana, Mexico into the United States.
The San Ysidro border post - the busiest crossing on the US-Mexico border- was closed to north and south traffic and pedestrians for several hours following the incident on Sunday, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office in San Diego, California said.
The migrants, mostly from Honduras, are part of a "caravan" loudly condemned by US President Donald Trump.
The shutdown took place only three days after Trump threatened to close the "whole border" with Mexico if "it gets to a level where we're going to lose control or people are going to start getting hurt."
Mexican Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete accused some of the migrants of attempting to cross from Tijuana in a "violent way," and said they would be deported.
"Far from helping the caravan, they are hurting it," he told the Milenio television network.
Video clips posted on Twitter showed crowds of migrants dashing across a shallow concrete riverbed toward the United States. The sudden rush overwhelmed the outnumbered Mexican police, who were deployed with large clear shields and full riot gear.
Some 5,000 migrants have been gathering in Tijuana in hopes of entering the United States.
Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen accused the migrants of seeking to harm US border patrol personnel "by throwing projectiles at them."
"DHS will not tolerate this type of lawlessness and will not hesitate to shut down ports of entry for security and public safety reasons," she said in a statement, adding that US officials would "seek to prosecute" offenders.
Mexico will deport Central American migrants who attempted to storm the US border, its interior ministry said.
The group, part of the migrant caravan heading towards the US from Central America, was rounded up after trying to cross the border "violently" and "illegally" on Sunday.
Video footage shows dozens of people running towards the border fence near the city of Tijuana.
US border officers used tear gas to repel them.
Tension has been running high on the US-Mexican border since the arrival of almost 7,500 migrants over the past weeks.
The migrants, who are mostly from Honduras, but also from Guatemala and El Salvador, say they are fleeing the threat of violence in their home countries and looking to make a better life for themselves and their families.
They have travelled in large groups, dubbed "caravans", for more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Central America and most want to reach the United States, where they say they plan to ask for asylum.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
