More than 6,000 members of the migrant caravan have reportedly arrived in Tijuana and are waiting to cross the United States-Mexico border. Of those, the Homeland Security Department claims at least 500 people are known criminals.
Known criminals have infiltrated the ranks of the caravan—which Republicans and President Trump are trying to stop from illegally entering the U.S.
From Fox News:
The revelation was made during a conference call with reporters, with officials asserting that “most of the caravan members are not women and children”. They claimed the group is mostly made up of single adult or teen males and that the women and children have been pushed to the front of the line in a bid to garner sympathetic media coverage.
“All legal options are on the table and we have been negotiating with all our partners in central America with ways to deal with the caravan,” one official said when asked about reports that the U.S. government is planning to make asylum-seekers remain on the Mexican side of the border while their claims are being reviewed.
According to the report, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced that northbound lanes to the San Ysidro Port of Entry have been temporarily closed as U.S. border agents are expecting the migrant caravan to rush the border.
“This AM, all of #SanYsidro Port of Entry’s northbound lanes were temporarily closed to initiate additional port hardening efforts after @CBP officials were notified that a large # of caravan migrants were planning to rush the border in an attempt to gain illegal access to the US,” Nielsen said on Twitter.
And, “Unfortunately, some members of the caravan are purposely causing disruptions at our border ports of entry. There is a legal and illegal way to enter the US. We have deployed additional forces to protect our border. We will enforce all our laws.”
Check it out:
Politico has more:
Traffic and pedestrian lanes northbound from Tijuana were blocked at 3:15 a.m. PST and the port of entry was reinforced with jersey barriers and concertina wire, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said in a written statement. The lanes were reopened at 6:25 a.m. PST. The port of entry is the busiest in the U.S.
But Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, commander of U.S. Army North, told POLITICO that if there were “reliable reports” that a mob was about to rush the border, or something similar that could put agents at risk, “we would close the port.”
Hundreds of miles east of the Tijuana-San Diego crossing site, Breitbart reports, border protection agents arrested several Central American immigrations who were known members of violent gangs or had prior criminal convictions.
From the report:
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector arrested three Central Americans who are known members of violent gangs. The agents also arrested five illegal immigrants with criminal histories that include convictions for homicide, child rape, and other sexual crimes against children.
Agents assigned to the McAllen Station apprehended a group of 39 illegal immigrants near Hidalgo, Texas, on November 14. During processing, the agents learned that one of the migrants, a Guatemalan national, is a member of the 18th Street gang. The Guatemalan admitted to the gang membership, according to Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.
