Mexico Begins Deporting Migrant Caravaners

I go to Tijuana relatively often.

My fiance and I spend a lot of time in San Diego, so we occasionally walk across (legally- obviously) to Tijuana to get lunch. There’s a seafood place there we really love.

So hearing that the flood of migrants has hit that town hard seems personal. I know many of the hard-working Mexicans that live there, and I’m sure they’re overwhelmed by what’s going on. There are three THOUSAND migrants loitering in TJ right now. They’ve taken over the soccer stadium as a temporary shelter.

So when I heard that MEXICO has started deporting criminal members of the infamous migrant caravan…I wasn’t surprised. If anything, I’m GLAD.

According to Daily Wire:

The Associated Press reports that Tijuana officials have “arrested 34 caravan members for drug possession, public intoxication, disturbing the peace and resisting police, and they would be deported to their home countries,” for failing to follow Mexico’s laws.

Hundreds of Tijuana residents have also staged protests against the migrants, who have taken over a local soccer stadium to use as a temporary shelter.

Yeeeah. I’d be sh*ty, too.

The mayor is pretty frustrated himself:

The mayor of Tijuana is no stranger to massive migrant caravans, but this one, he says, is different. A Haitian caravan, which also arrived looking for political asylum from the United States and was turned away, consisted largely of refugees looking for work and more permanent homes. Those migrants came prepared with plans and paperwork, and when their asylum claims were rejected, accepted temporary work permits from Mexican officials and did their best to assimilate into Mexican society.

Tijuana’s mayor says the Honduran migrants aren’t as flexible, and are determined to get into the United States, even if they have to cross the border illegally. And while wait times to declare asylum can be long, many migrants who might have turned back were emboldened by a court ruling last week, overturning a Trump Administration directive denying most asylum requests.

“Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum has made a point of saying the city is not happy with the migrants who began arriving last week, and he compared the Central American group unfavorably with about 3,000 Haitians who ended up staying after their bid to reach the U.S. failed last year,” AP reported.

“‘The Haitians arrived with their papers, with a clear vision,'” Gastelum said in an interview, according to the AP. The Haitians rented apartments, made their own food, found jobs and “inserted themselves in the city’s economy,” rarely running afoul of Tijuana law enforcement.

Yeeeeeah.

This is screwed for everyone involved.

But thanks for having our backs, Tijuana! I hope I can come back for seafood soon…