Migrants trying to get into the United States protested at the border with Mexico
TIJUANA (Mexico), March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Migrants from central America, Cuba, Haiti and Mexico blocked two lanes of the US-Mexico border crossing in Tijuana, begging President Joe Biden’s administration to allow them to apply for asylum in the United States.
Biden has moved to dismantle some of the harshest immigration policies of his predecessor Donald Trump, but the process has been slow and only those who have already applied for asylum are being considered for immediate entry.
Many of those protesting did not meet that condition, but said they still wanted to make their case.
“We ask you with all our heart that you help us, that we be heard,” Mexican national Maria Guadalupe Torres said.
Along with around one hundred others, Torres knelt about 20m from the entrance to the San Ysidro crossing, where US border agents stood guard.
Under Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program, tens of thousands of non-Mexican asylum seekers – mostly from Central America – were sent back over the border pending the outcome of their applications.
Biden’s administration moved quickly to start dismantling the policy, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), and began to let small groups in – but only those who have already started the process of applying for asylum will be considered for entry.
The protesters are part of a group of about 900 migrants that includes active MPP applicants who have been camping near the border gatehouse for 12 days. — NNN-AGENCIES