Migrant caravan blocked at border on second day

Central American migrants wait in a fenced area at the San Ysidro border crossing to walk to the United States border and have their cases processed in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo / Washington Post

Dozens of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States woke on the ground outside a California border crossing after US officials said they did not have enough space to accommodate the group engaged in a high-profile test of Trump Administration policies.

The arrival of the 220 asylum seekers has set up a showdown between migrants, citing their right to seek shelter from persecution, and the Trump Administration, which is trying to crack down on illegal immigration and says many asylum claims are fraudulent.

Trump tweeted last week that he had ordered the secretary of homeland security "not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country," adding, "It is a disgrace."

But under international law, the US Government is obliged to allow foreigners to apply for asylum.

Trump Administration officials said they will begin processing the migrants when they have the capacity, but they have not indicated when that will happen.

The San Ysidro port of entry in San Diego has detention space for about 300 people.

US officials have not said how many people are being held there.

Asylum seekers are typically detained until officers from US Citizenship and Immigration Services conduct interviews to determine whether they have a credible fear of persecution or torture if they are sent home.

The first few dozen migrants, wearing white armbands to identify themselves, walked up to the San Ysidro entry point yesterday. They and the other Central Americans had travelled from southern Mexico for weeks in a convoy that received extraordinary attention after conservative US media highlighted their trip and the president denounced the caravan.

Today, many migrants sat on the ground on blankets and under donated blue tarps outside the border crossing. They passed around a Tijuana newspaper to try to learn scraps of information about their fate.