Migrant caravan: White House says ‘no one wants to use tear gas on women and children’
Trump has urged Mexico to deport those in their country seeking asylum in US
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
More than 5,000 Central American migrants in Tijuana, Mexico wait for their applications for asylum to be processed as Donald Trump continues to crack down on their entry into the US.
Speaking at a roundtable with supporters in Mississippi, Mr Trump claimed the tear gas used against asylum seekers was “very safe”.
The US president went on to say that some of the women pictured with the tear gas are not really parents but are instead “grabbers” who steal children to have a better chance of being granted asylum. He cited no evidence to back-up his claim.
However, a partial government shutdown looms. Congress has just 11 days to pass a spending bill which would fund, among other agencies, the border-policing Department of Homeland Security.
Mr Trump has been threatening to bring the $312bn bill to a standstill over his border wall proposal.
Democrats have accused him of putting at risk the one function of government he wants to shore up with the wall - all for the sake of saving face on his campaign promise.
The president's supporters say his base will understand the stance because he is putting "America First".
Mr Ebrard was speaking to reporters during a news conference in Mexico City. Named after General George Marshall, the Marshall Plan was a US-backed aid scheme to rebuild Western Europe after the devastation of the Second World War.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be meeting with Mr Ebrard, who will officially take office on 1 December as President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known by the acronym Amlo is sworn into office.
He is already facing a dilemma about his proposal to issue work visas to the Central American migrants so they do not have to cross the border into the US.
With migrants feeling deflated after the tear gas clash, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said it "reiterates that members of the caravans that cross our country should respect Mexican laws and not engage in actions that affect the communities they pass through."
"It is important to note that the fact the Mexican government protects their rights does not imply a free pass to break the law," the group said in a rare moment of less than full-throated support for the migrants.
A large part of the support issue is due to economics. For the six million people who live in the border region this could prove disastrous economically.
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to close the San Ysidro port of entry near San Diego, California, and Tiajuana, Mexico.
San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce on yesterday’s port of entry shutdown. pic.twitter.com/Xphgd4TkEt
— Maya Srikrishnan (@msrikris) November 27, 2018
Follow live updates below
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load
At the Tornillo, Texas, camp set up for children crossing the US border alone - the country's largest such detention centre - the Trump administration waived fingerprint and extensive background checks for employees.
The Associated Press has obtained a memo and reported it said: "the former director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement personally signed off on sidestepping requirements for child abuse and neglect checks at the tent city".
The centre employs approximately 2,100 people overseeing the detention of 2,324 teenagers, largely from Central America who migrated to the US alone to join family members already here.
Geraldo Rivera of Fox News, Mr Trump's favoured news network, has made a plea to television pundits, perhaps aimed at those on his own channel and colleagues.
“I am ashamed...We treat these people, these economic refugees, as if they’re zombies from The Walking Dead," Mr Rivera said about the rhetoric used to describe the Central American migrant caravan currently in Tijuana, Mexico.
He went as far as to say "we suspend our humanity when it comes to this issue, and I fear that it is because they look different than the mainstream.”
“We are a nation of immigrants. These are desperate people," Mr Rivera noted.
The Trump administration has been steadfast in its defence of the use of tear gas and the president has continued to threaten a border closure.
For the six million people who live in the San Diego-Tijuana border this could prove disastrous economically.
The San Ysidro port of entry has a more than $220 billion dollar economy in traded goods.
Approximately 25 million vehicles containing roughly 48 million passengers and more than 16 million pedestrians go between the U.S. and Mexico to go to work and school through that port every year, according to the Department of Transportation.
It’s important to note that, while Donald Trump is now claiming the tear gas used against children and women at the US-Mexico border this week was “very safe,” he initially denied force was used against minors.
Just hours before acknowledging tear gas was used by border patrol agents, the president told reporters at the White House, “We didn’t … We don’t use it on children”.
The president then walked back those comments after border patrol officials confirmed tear gas was used, following photo and video evidence surfacing online.
A new study shows right-wing and conservative sources have dominated coverage on Facebook and YouTube surrounding the migrant caravan.
Fox News leads the pack with the most top links relating to the issue across Facebook, as well as on YouTube, where its videos are the top-viewed when it comes to the story.
Other leading sites and voices include Breitbart, Ben Shapiro, Daily Caller and Fox Business.
Per journalists in San Ysidro area and the group running the shelter in Tiajuana, here is the latest breakdown of who makes up the migrant caravan.
Men do outnumber women, but Department of Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen and White House advisor Kellyanne Conway's comments on the makeup of the caravan are not wholly accurate either.
"Tear gas was used once a month during the Obama administration under very similar circumstances," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press conference today.
She did not provide specific examples of its use by the previous administration or where she is getting that figure.
It is the first briefing the White House has held in a month.
Ms Sanders said "certainly no one wants women or children of anyone to have this happen. That's why we've encouraged them to go to legal ports of entry."
She noted the White House expects "by Monday" to hear from the incoming foreign minister of Mexico regarding a policy for the migrant caravan and the San Ysidro port of entry.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, is the incoming president and takes over on 1 December.
The port of San Ysdiro was closed for a short period on Sunday amid the tear gas incident and as we pointed out before, the economic costs of shutting down the whole border for an indefinite amount of time would result in a big blow to the economy of the area.
Here are the numbers, directly from a statement issued by the local Chamber of Commerce:
Mexico's incoming foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard has said that something like a new Marshall Plan is needed to deal with the number with the issue of refugees and migrants heading to Mexico and the US from Central America.
Mr Ebrard was speaking to reporters during a news conference in Mexico City. Named after General George Marshall, the Marshall Plan was a US-backed aid scheme to rebuild Western Europe after the devastation of the Second World War.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments