‘They are criminals!’ Tijuana mayor threatens to sue migrant caravan organizers

Leaders of Central American caravans should face criminal charges and be held accountable for the damage caused to Tijuana as thousands of migrants continue to plague the city, waiting to learn their fate on the US-Mexico border.

Members of Pueblo Sin Fronteras (Nation Without Borders), an immigration rights group known for organizing several migrant caravans in Mexico and Central America, as well as other unidentified organizers, should be prosecuted, Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum told Fox News.
“This person who says he is from Pueblo Sin Fronteras... Let’s take care of him, in a legal way,” Gastelum said. “Those are really criminals because they’re dealing with lives, they’re dealing with people... It’s a federal crime.”

Accusing the influx of Central American migrants of acting violently and disrespectfully towards the locals, Gastelum said their presence in the city has “hurt us.” The mayor, who supports the deportation of violent migrants, once again called on the federal government and the newly elected leader to step up their efforts to support the city, which is struggling to accommodate around 8,000 migrants currently waiting for the US to process their asylum claims.

Tackling the migrant influx will be Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s first order of business once he is sworn in on Saturday. Top members of Obrador’s cabinet plan to travel to Washington on Sunday to finalize an agreement which would mandate asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their claims are processed by the US authorities, the Washington Post reported.

Tensions escalated on the southern border last weekend as the US authorities used tear gas on hundreds of migrants who attempted to cross into California near the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
“In those six hours that the border was closed, we lost approximately 129 million pesos (US$1.4 million),” according to Gastelum. While the authorities detained 42 migrants, none of those arrested in Sunday’s clash will be criminally charged, an administration official told CNN on Friday. Instead, all 42 face deportation.