They're begging Trump to declare marital law authorized under the Insurrection Act, which is exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act. This isn't a game.
5
If the reality of dealing with these migrants hasn't hit your city/county/community yet, I can help you. Consider the cost when your school system has to suddenly deal with, say, 50 migrant children of various ages .... teens who have at best a 1st or 2nd grade education. Doesn't sound that bad? Consider the costs of a focused educational program just for them which is what actually has to happen. There is no hope of truly educating them before they age out of the K-12 system. These young people are then the ones who stay in your community and work at low wage jobs that don't require education. Their kids struggle academically. This scenario plays out again the next year because your community has so many immigrant families who agree to take these kids in. The educated citizens with means move out or never move into your community because taxes are high and educational attainment keeps declining.
15
Catherine, thank you for your comment. You get it. I wish more people got it. These people are destroying our country. I don‘t even want to think about what this country will be like 20 years from now.
10
The part that annoys me is that let's say we let in these 1200 people. We give them housing vouchers and language classes and Medicaid and free school and food stamps and in 10 years guess what will happen.
1150 of these people will still live in Honduran enclaves and 750 of them will still not speak English. 1000 of them will rely on government support and only interact and give money back to Honduran shopkeepers and workers.
Then, when we see them gathering to protest for more stuff they will be waving Honduran flags and say "back in my country" and mean Honduras. These people will not think of themselves as Americans. They will be Hondurans who use America to make more money for Hondurans. They will send any monetary surplus they make back to Honduras, tax free of course. Meanwhile. the $10,000 in taxes I paid on $56,000 of adjusted income will pay for all their benefits when they win them through the protest.
The most frustrating part is that the NYT will find the 1 person in that 1200 that got a successful job and is a CEO and insinuate that all 1200 people in that caravan are millionaire CEOs creating jobs for Americans. Except that 1 person will also be celebrated as woke for being a tribalist and hiring mostly Hondurans.
19
You forgot to mention how many kids will be born of that 1,200 as birth control is of little interest.
13
You were expecting maybe more compassion & not such a large percentage of hate and snottiness in the comments ? You are surprised ? You don't seem to be in modern America I guess.
The place of Greed,Gluttony and Supersized everything, including lust for money. The place where many folks need to get to the corner store for MORE so bad that they are willing to kill neighbors,friends, children - anyone who may slow them down on the road for more than 2 seconds. Its a sad place. A broken place. Where reality "Starz" can actually be elected president. Where bragging about your Misogyny is a trait to be admired by many. Where only bad news sells.
Too down you say ? Not at all. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The kind of neighborhood where kids have to fear for their lives in school because Gun & Weapons sales are a thriving business & we can't touch the sacred ...
The kind of place where a 15 year old kid's only option if he questions his sexuality is suicide, instead of being allowed to grow long enough to figure it out.
And now a few peasants with back packs are Major Security threats ? Why ? You've kicked the Transgender out of the military so now they have nothing to fear.
But then again - why do we owe the entire world entry into this paradise on Earth?
Why did the migrant caravan head north? Couldn't they just as easily gone south? Common language in South America, Spanish.
15
Since all these claims of violence are essentially unverifiable, and since all these migrants know the only way in is if you are subject to violence, what do you think is going to happen?
I know what I would do if I was an economic migrant trying to get to America and get the huge benefits that refugees get that even citizens dont fer. I would lie. I would make up a story.
Have you noticed that all these people have the exact same story. I would lie and I bet a large percentage of them are lying as well.
Here is the thing. If they are fleeing gangs, those gangs are in America. Why is America any safer for them then Mexico? MS 13 is in Mexico and America. Why is it that only America is safe?
It's not about safety. Its about money. These people are just as safe in Mexico than in America. They want to money that comes with living in America. And that's fine.
I just dont agree with letting liars into our nation and giving them support for the rest of their natural lives when 85% of them will never pay taxes. We should control immigration and allow more legal immigrants in that we dont give months of free housing and resources too.
I owed $10,000 in taxes this year on $56,000 of adjusted income. 85% of these people will think taxes are giant government handouts because they never will owe any.
Uncontrolled immigration will give us more Trumps every time.
13
America had gangs. Mexico has gangs. Even Canada has gangs. Wouldn't the only safe place for these people be like Japan if they were fleeing gangs?
Why does fleeing MS-13 allow you into America if MS-13 is also in America? This whole fleeing gangs thing doesn't jive. It sounds like they want more money like everyone wants. If they all come to America then we will be just as poor as Mexico. And there will still be gangs. If they want to be safe then Japan or China or South Korea should be the safe harbor for these people.
10
Although I have simpathy for these people, let's 1st deal (which we are not) with the homelessness and child-homelesness of our own people, before we start taking in other countries citizens.
8
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. These people, and every American, should know that the way to permanent residency in the US done legally is very long, difficult and expensive. It is definitely NOT as simple as getting into a caravan, going to the border and begging or demanding by force and protests for an asylum. This is not right.
9
We have let in - both legally and illegally - more people every year for the last 30 years, than every other country on the planet . . . combined.
There are now 7.6 Billion on the planet. About 4 billion want in. When the pressure to get in exceeds the political pressure to regulate the flow, it will continue until the quality of life equalizes.
The census bureau reports there are 61 million in the country, including their offspring. So everyone has a personal number.
290 million?
600 million?
1.2 billion?
What is your number?
12
Holman, my number is 0. Five year moratorium on all immigration. Let’s permit the ones here to adjust and give American tax payers a break.
3
Allowing any of these individuals entry is a huge mistake. All you will get is more of the same. They don't bring respect for this country nor a desire to assimilate. Despite the possibility that they might be "hard working" they still want a big government to take care of them. Why do citizens of another country think they have rights here? (We can thank the Left for that one.) Do American's do that to other countries? No. This is pathetic.
18
Where did your ancestors come from and for what reasons? Unless you are Native American I suggest you take an honest look into your family's history and thank God that when they emigrated people like you did not have the political or otherwise power to stop them.
LC, our ancestors came here legally. And then they built this country before welfare, food stamps, section 8 housing... existed. They suceeded. On their own hard work. That’s it.
2
All the Native Americans do is illustrate the need to have and enforce immigration laws. No one is owed the right to move here.
1
How do the lawyers determine 200 children were eligible for asylum , and are their parents already in the U. S. or are they alone? If 300 are in the group that means more than half are children . Am sympathetic they are looking for a better life but not to the parents willing to expose a child to the kindness of strangers and imperil them .
10
It is appalling to read too many of the responses to this article -- I had thought more NY Times readers capable of critical thinking and better reading comprehension, as well as having more compassion. As a few have pointed out, these are NOT illegal immigrants; asylum seeking is a legal process, and lawyers have selected 200 with strong cases for asylum to make application.
At least grant that those 200 have the right to have their cases go through the standard process for asylum seekers?
And maybe read a little history to understand the large part the United States has played in creating both the violence (US appetite for illegal drugs) and the economic desperation driving both the true "asylum seekers" and the "economic refugees. (Also remember we stole a chunk of the country from Mexico through a trumped-up war (pun
unintentional) and murdered and stole our way to most of the rest of it from the Native Americans.)
13
Thank you Lynne for your compassionate and knowledgeable comment.
1
They are in a safe space and not entitled to claim the right to come here. Critical thinking admits that allowing them in will only give literally a hundred million people the idea they are also welcome when they are not.
The US is not responsible for the region's corruption nor for the area's massive over population problem. The notion that we are not entitled to have or enforce our immigration is a liberal fantasy that will lead to Trump's second term.
14
You're living in a fictional past Lynne and you've had way too much of the Liberal Kool-Aid. Modern Americans can't pay eternal reparations for the actions of our forefathers. How far do you want to go back? Should certain modem day Native Americans make reparations for the wars they waged on neighboring tribes before Europeans arrived? That was a time of worldwide conquest and yet we now look back on it with judgmental eyes and an oversimplified perspective. You are the one who needs to study your history. Forget the liberal takes on history. Go read the journals written back then.
And you can stop blaming the U.S for the rest of the worlds problems too. Time to grow up.
10
I see this issue as running much deeper. We have plenty of laws to cover these issues, but I don’t see them being enforced.
We have long had immigrants come as temporary workers. They have harvested the fields, a job that Americans do not want. They do other jobs as well. Married to a master carpenter, I have seen what these immigrants do to construction wages in four states in which we have lived. I remember long ago when the INS came to companies, rounded up the illegals in factories, and fined the employers for hiring them. Now they call in advance and let you know they are coming. Of course, all the illegals are gone when they arrive.
I am sympathetic to the problems they face in their own countries. But they are not fighting for change at home.
In addition, I have watched tech companies hire those with work visas as programmers because they work for much less than Americans.
If farmers want workers, let them hire them, report them on federal payroll tax returns, and put them on a bus when they are done. Workers should be photographed, fingerprinted, and DNA registered. They should have humane working conditions while here.
We let this situation persist is political. Business wants cheap labor. Rights of risk/reward for business owners should never overrule rights of stakeholders.
Also, I do not think American born children of illegals should be citizens. What will happen in 15-20 years when the Chinese vacation babies exercise their rights as American citizens?
18
You should know there are migrants worker visas already. Just saying.
1
President Trump has a majority in the House and Senate, so if he does not like the current immigration law, why doesn’t he seek legislation to change it?
2
Al:
Good question. Here is the answer:
Trump does not have a majority in the House and Senate. A large number of the Republicans in Congress have sold out to the Koch Brothers/Chamber of Commerce vision of open/porous borders in order to import low-wage labor.
They are joined, of course, by all of the Democrats who support open/porous borders, sanctuary cities, and chain migration in order to build their voting base.
Trump has proposed a four-pillar program that includes citizenship for Dreamers, a border wall, and an end to chain migration and the visa lottery.
14
Can anybody reasonably answer why they want unfettered immigration, mostly millions of uneducated, unskilled, poor immigrants pouring into the US? Currently there are around 12 million (no one knows for sure) here already. When is enough, enough? Where are they supposed to all live? We have too many hundreds of thousands of Americans in dire need of housing, (especially in California). This includes American families with children. Do the caravan people get to jump the queue?
23
A lot of Americans do want controlled immigration, so Dems are better off compromising and being part of the solution to control illegal immigration and phony asylum seekers. Otherwise you will have more guys like Trump elected to do it for you. Same goes for NRA and Republicans. More and more Americans care about gun control, so NRA and GOP should be part of the solution, versus having Dems do it for you.
15
They can take their place at the end of the line, right behind the 13 million Syrian refugees.
15
Build the wall and don’t answer when they knock.
18
Buzzfeed sent the reporter Adolfo Flores to travel with the Caravan. In his 3/30/18 article titled "A Huge Caravan Of Central Americans Is Headed For The US, And No One In Mexico Dares To Stop Them", he said the Caravan organizers thought that about two-thirds of the estimated 1,200 migrants "are planning on crossing into the United States undetected or asking for some type of protection like asylum”.
So, of the 1,200 migrants, 800 planned to cross our border undetected or by asking for asylum. Later in the trip, the Caravan organizers brought volunteer lawyers to meet with the migrants for individual consultations. After hearing about each migrant' situation, the lawyers evidently felt that only 200 out of the 800 could possibly make a case for asylum.
I am wondering where the other 600 are now. How many are figuring out how to cross into our country undetected or have already tried to do so? (The border patrol announced that it has caught 11 Caravan migrants crossing illegally.)
21
How do they plan to support themselves in the U.S. without relying on charities and government assistance?
23
These people will work gut-wrenching jobs (slaughterhouses, anyone? picking tomatos, anyone? cleaning houses, anyone?) that US citizens REFUSE to take. You want your chicken nuggets to double in price because the employers have to "up" salaries to attract native-born help?
1
Very true. But maybe those industries should be forced to not hire low wage workers and maybe we should be paying the real price of the things we buy. People that are against low skill migration can't have it both ways.
1
SGG
Do you really think Americans won't work in slaughterhouses? Americans won't take those jobs at lousy wages. Companies should not be allowed to bring in foreigners because they don't want to pay locals a decent wage. Once upon a time Dems actually understood this and stood for labor rather than identity politics.
4
Canada and the United Sates have had a safe third country agreement, which Canada sought so it could turn back asylum seekers attempting to cross from the United States into Canada. European countries has similar agreements with their neighbors. However, the United States has no “safe third country” agreement with Mexico, so Mexico facilitates the passage of migrants through its territory to reach the U.S. border. The Department of Homeland Security now wants to declare Mexico a “safe third country,” allowing it to turn back migrants who pass through Mexico to ask for asylum at a U.S. ports of entry. If Mexico does not agree to safe third county designation, the United States should make the decision to designate Mexico a safe third country unilaterally.
16
Oh! The safe third country agreement Canada has with the US? Fact of the matter is all the asylum seekers know that if they go to an official border entry point they will be sent back. Thanks to a loophole if they simply walk in anywhere else then they can proceed to claim asylum, RCMP will even help carry bags and give rides. Last year Quebec received waves of Haitians that did not want to wait for Trump's deportation orders. Now planeloads of Nigerians, and others, are obtaining US visitors visas and walking into Canada. All provided with social housing and medical benefits, the health benefits that ordinary Canadian citizens are not entitled to. Really is a no lose situation for them. Time it takes to process claim, 20 months, and then there are the appeals. My personal view is that for the most part, with few exceptions, the whole asylum business is a racket and the 1951 Refugee Convention revisited and if not rescinded then updated for the twenty-first century.
8
Canada is learning the hard way as we have been and still are. People will say or do almost anything to get into and stay in our countries.
The question is how many can we support?
1
It is not the law that you must apply for asylum in the first country you reach.
'Under international law, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to remain there until the authorities have assessed their claim. There is nothing in international law to say that refugees must claim asylum in the first country they reach'. (RefugeeCouncil.Ork.UK).
It was EU law until 2016, when it was abolished because wealthy northern European states where effectively sloping shoulders and forcing poorer southern and eastern states to assume the economic and logistical costs of millions of refugees from Syria and North Africa.
At the end of the day though, it's a value judgement. I personally think helping people in need is more important than arbitrarily insisting 'law and order' means never letting in immigrants or refugees. Remember you once were strangers in the land of Egypt.
3
Are some of these migrants requesting asylum in Mexico as well? Is Mexico considered a safe country? If violence and persecution is the reason they are fleeing one would presume they would be happy to have sanctuary in any safe country.
24
Why don't they all keep 'caravanning' up to Canada and ask them for asylum?
Oh wait, they're supposed to stop in the first country of entry. That being NOT the USA. Why is this always the sole responsibility of America? Looking at you both Canada and Mexico.
26
Let them in.
5
You sponsor them for a visa.
6
You can personally host a few and their offspring forever.....let em in....your house
5
At this rate, the United States of America will soon become the world’s largest refugee camp for Latin American “migrants”.
The liberals wants “open borders”. There you have it, enjoy.
28
No American political party wants open borders for immigration. “Open borders” is an international trade concept.
3
@Jiacheng Wu, We already are.
7
Has everyone forgotten this country was built on immigration?!
No!
They should be rejected immediately and turned around to where they came from.
25
...says someone who probably has never had a gun pointed at his/her children's heads as a threat (and incentive to do what the gangs instruct)and can't conceive of countries that dangerous. Try some empathy, people.
Then prove your empathy by sponsoring these people permanent residence. Don't just talk.
1
I agree these people are fleeing hell in their own countries, but I don't understand why the US is being criticized for not letting them in. Why don't they go to another Central or South American country? International law says asylum seekers must apply for asylum in the first safe country they come to. For Hondurans that would be Guatemala. At least they would speak the language there.
29
Methinks there will be a landslide in favor of the Republicans based on this issue. All the candidates have to do is broadcast these images in their campaign ads. The Democrats can RussiaGate until hell freezes over - it will pale in comparison. The Democrats are just digging their hole deeper and deeper.
33
On 3/28/18, the web site Latina Lista had an article titled
"Trump administration turning back the clock on many US policies but immigration marches to different timekeeper"
It said, "The Trump Administration will soon find that out when over 1,300 Latin American refugees arrive at the San Diego-Mexico border in April.
Organized by the immigrant advocate group Pueblos Sin Fronteras (Towns Without Borders), the march, known as the Refugee Caravan, is making its way through Mexico …"
“... it’s evident that the Trump administration will have an increasingly hard time of keeping people from coming to the United States — or turning back a clock that is only counting down the hours for a future where borders themselves are history.”
The reporters at Latina Lista and the members of this caravan may not believe in borders, but we Americans do. And, we do not want people to migrate here without our permission. We do not want to merge with Mexico and Central America to become one huge country.
27
Under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 protocol, and adopted into U.S. law, the United States must recognize refugees who fear persecution and are not able to get help from their home country. But none—or almost none—of the Central American migrants qualify as refuges under the convention or protocol or the U.S. adoption of their provisions. 8 U.S. Code § 1101 states that the term “refugee” means a person “who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Presidents are permitted to grant asylum to individuals who do not fit the definition. The stature also provides that “ a person who has been forced to abort a pregnancy or to undergo involuntary sterilization, or who has been persecuted for failure or refusal to undergo such a procedure or for other resistance to a coercive population control program, shall be deemed to have been persecuted on account of political opinion, and a person who has a well-founded fear that he or she will be forced to undergo such a procedure or subject to persecution for such failure, refusal, or resistance shall be deemed to have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion.”
7
Mexico is no longer an ally or friend of the United States. It has established itself as a hostile adversary.
They allowed and facilitated the travel of this caravan through Mexico and right to the U.S. border. They are complicit.
The next steps are clear:
1. Abrogate NAFTA. Apply punitive tariffs to all Mexican goods and surcharges on any money transfers from the U.S. to Mexico. (No, I don't care about U.S. companies that are producing products in a hostile country.)
2. Build the wall.
3. Change the law. Enable immediate rejection of asylum requests at the border, or require all requests to be made at a U.S. embassy or consulate. End chain migration.
4. Build an asylum processing center on a distant Aleutian Island. All asylum seekers will live there while their asylum request is adjudicated.
If we don’t act forcefully now, we will open the door to millions of asylum seekers per year.
27
Just to correct some misconceptions that are seemingly rampant amongst readers of this article:
These are not “illegal immigrants”. Individuals presenting themselves for inspection at a US port of entry, and requesting asylum, are literally following a codified legal process to apply for asylum in the United States. For those who are commenting about “illegal immigrants”, please reflect on what biases you may have that would lead you to have a knee jerk reaction that these are “illegal immigrants”, when this entire article is about prospective immigrants following a legal process.
Many commentators seem to believe that these individuals should have sought asylum in Mexico. First of all, some of these claimants are Mexican, so obviously they will not be seeking asylum from Mexico. Secondly, the US has a safe third country agreement only with CANADA. If you really do not understand why Mexico is not a safe third country, please look up the Human Rights Report from the Department of State.
Lastly, it’s amazing that someone commenting on a New York Times article is so omniscient that they can determine that ALL of these migrants are “economic migrants” and not bona fide asylum seekers. I guess we should get rid of our entire asylum system where trained officers make that determination after interviewing an applicant, since apparently some can make this determination without ever meeting the applicants, or learning a single thing about asylum law.
11
Clearly they are economic trying to THWART the wall that's is SAVING American JOBS by ILLEGALLY applying for asylum through appropriate legal channels. Its also EASY to infer that these migrants love AMERICAN idol, pizza and long walks on the beach!!!! I didn't even have to read the article to figure that one out!!
8
They will not appear at their immigration hearings and will not leave the country. They will be illegally in the US at that point.
Visa overstays are illegal immigrants. It's just a matter of time with this group.
2
The caravan migrants are not fleeing violence. Honduran and Salvadoran gunmen didn’t pursue them two thousand miles across Guatemala and Mexico to the U.S. border. They are attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico, which has asylum laws similar to U.S. asylum laws.
30
Yes. These caravan people are only using a loophole in the system and abusing it. I know people who have asylums who are claiming that they are here because they are persecuted and discriminated in their country while they are actually still in contact with their families at home who are taking care of their house that the asylum seeker is renting out. It's just a total lie. These people should not be granted an asylum.
5
These people, under international agrement, should be offered asylum in the first nation that they enter, Mexico. Those who choose to bypass Mexicon for the US are clearly doing so for reasons other that asylum. They should be refused entry and incarerated if they force illegal entry.
I wonder why billionaires like Bezos, Steyer, Gates, Bloomberg, Soros and millionaires like Sarandon, Nixon, DiCrapio, BiBlasio, etc aren’t offering to sponsor the people that are trying to enter the country. DiBlasio has two homes in Brooklytn that he isn’t using since he is living in Gracie Mansion at taxpayer expense. Oh, he rents those houses at rates far in excess of what the middle class can afford. Hypocrites!
20
Oh great. Welcome to America, come one come all! Free stuff! Bring your entire country here!
26
The organizers complain that the San Ysidro border crossing can't process them all, yet they have deliberately bypassed dozens of other border crossings. In fact, San Diego is as far from Tapachula Mexico as they could have picked, over twice as far as Laredo Texas.
They came to San Diego to take advantage of California's sanctuary state policies. If these asylum seekers are released into CA, they will never appear for their court dates; they will apply for welfare, put their kids in school, get a driver's license and vote in the next election.
28
Holy Mackeral Batman, The NYTimes commentors are in agreement. No illegal immigrants need apply. They walked through Mexico, allow Mexico to be responsible for them, Mexico is reasonably safe for people not involved in the drug trade so asylum should be granted there.
27
The overblown outrage from those opposed to this caravan is matched by their chagrin that these people are not rapists, murderers, and drug smugglers. How misplaced, undirected, and logically confused this argument has become. Almost like the argument is being made by Russians trying to pit us against each other with this hotbed issue.
The story here is that our laws and our border processes are working very well, implemented effectively by our excellent border patrol civil servants. Don’t listen to Trump as he lies to vainly attempt to prove his campaign claims correct. He was, and is again, just plainly wrong.
7
To all of you in the caravan: Welcome to our country. We let my grandparents in years ago. We let Fred Trump in. Now it is your turn to enter and become part of this great, diverse nation. You will notice our beauty, from sea to shining sea. You will notice our magnificent cities. You are welcome to come to our outstanding national parks. You will notice our people, white, brown, black, European, Asian, Hispanic. This is our world, and you will be free from the terrorist violence you are fleeing. Our president welcomes you, and will go to church on Sunday and thank God that you have travelled your long journey safely to this distant land to seek the right to live without fear and to enjoy the freedoms that belong to every human being. Make yourselves at home.
5
Use our roads, schools, institutions, all the things we built that you had nothing to do with. Put more pressure on our environment, public lands, emergency rooms, police, courts. Bid up our rents and bid down our wages. Bring the pathologies of your crime-ridden countries. Wave your flags in our streets. And tell us how racist we are if we complain.
28
America can’t solve global poverty through immigration. Nearly half of the world’s population — more than three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. And the number of people living in poverty increases annual. If we double, triple or quadrupled our immigration quotas, we wouldn’t make a dent in global poverty. We would success only in impoverishing America. An enlightened foreign policy is the way to help reduce world poverty
22
This is an invasion. We have no obligation, moral or otherwise, to accept any of them. They need to be turned around and sent home, immediately.
14
I travel. In every country I go to from Myanmar to Mexico, I am expected to have papers. In Mexico, I as an American/Canadian would be denied entrance without a passport. Asylum seekers are people who are in fear for their lives and apply to the first safe country, therefore Mexico. This is ridiculous, we either have laws or we don't have laws. I can't go to France, or Vietnam, or Australia, without documentation. These are the new "dreamers", some public relations name, that has nothing to do with legality. Countries without borders are not countries, they are amoebas and the only people calling for this are people from countries who have failed to fix their own countries. I don't agree with trump on much, but I do agree with him on this. I travel, I use a passport and at every border I get asked questions and am asked to provide a return ticket. US border control is a joke!
64
You travel, but apparently you don't travel to Mexico! As someone who has crossed the US-Mexico border many times, they are often only checking passports one way, and it sure isn't for entrance into Mexico.
4
Amen. US border control is strict at airports but surprisingly a total joke at the Mexican border. Maybe the wall is needed after all. I'm not a US citizen, so I always have to apply for a US Visa whenever I need to enter this country. I know people with proper US visas who have been deported at the airport for who knows why. Why the special treatment for these asylum seekers? They're just a bunch of rule breaking opportunists.
1
You travel as a tourist (or possibly for business). You are not a refuge seeking asylum. Tourists and business travelers require visas and do not travel because they fear they will be murdered. Tourists and business travelers are not screened by asylum officers to determine if there is a valid threat to their lives, at which point they are either deported or referred to a court room to plead their case to go on vacation to a judge. You need a return to show a return ticket, because you are coming home after your trip. Asylum seekers are fleeing their homes forever. Applying for a tourist visa is a legal process. Applying for asylum is a legal process. Two completely different legal processes.
1
Ugh. Why not sanctuary in Mexico?
37
I do think that most Americans are ignorant or have forgotten why this is happening. You reap what you sow. During the Reagan Administration, the US caused so much havoc in Central America with the Contra War that the entire region had social and economic changes that have now ended in these thousands of migrants trying to go North. All the Maras and social unrest in that region has been caused by the US, with its horrible policies of supporting ghastly dictatorships. So now there are are these thousands trying to reach the US thinking that they will be welcome. I feel sorry for them. But at least they are Christians. We wish here in Europe that they were coming here instead of the Muslim invasion that we are having.
1
My heart is bleeding. Not.
1
No free stuff.
4
If America truly is a 'Christian Nation' as the right so often claims, why are we not welcoming refugees like these with open arms? Did Jesus not teach us to help the helpless?
Shame on those who turn their backs on the destitute and persecuted.
4
These and most immigrants to the U.S. are not refugees. These are economic migrants here for the money, free education for their many offspring and endless welfare benefits. The arrogance of these grifters in waving the Honduran flag as they demand entry into the U.S. is staggering.
53
Mary, you are incorrect. They are fleeing violence in their country.
The U.S. is NOT a christian nation, nor is it a jewish nation, an islamic, buddhist or santeria nation.
The U.S. is a democratic republic founded on the basis of freedom of all religions and freedom from religion.
13
This is the one situation that always destroys democrats. The democrats have to stop being the party for illegal immigrants because it's a losing position. I'm all for legal immigration but not illegal immigration. They said this caravan consisted mostly of women and children. From looking at all the pictures, I see a majority of men. The American people want legal immigration but not illegal immigrants who will drain our economy even more than Trump has already drained it.
56
If they go through the very long process of seeking, and gaining asylum, then they have been approved for entry. From there they would have to begin the process of gaining US citizenship ship. How is that illegal?
2
Cheryl, our immigration courts have been inundated with requests for asylum, with the result that many cases are not heard for years. While our government can legally detain the people making these requests until their cases are heard, we do not have enough facilities to hold them. Most are released into our country, with the instructions to show to for their hearings. Most do not show up. And, if they are eventually caught, they say they have been here for so long that it would be a hardship for them to be sent home.
9
They have no right to sit in safe Mexico and demand entrance here.
8
In this instance, Mr. President, the lawmakers have decided they will elevate Americans first. In accordance with your oath of office, get down there and see that the law is observed. And correct your Homeland Secretary, who threatens to prosecute those not being admitted. That is an empty and despicable threat -- those accused would gain their full due process rights under law. You and your administration cannot rewrite the Constitution.
1
According to news media reports, some of the caravan migrants have already entered the United States illegally. The United States should alter its asylum policy to automatically deny asylum to all who enter the country illegally.
Thousands of asylum-seekers each year game the system by entering the country illegally. This turns what is supposed to be a simple administrative decision made at legal ports of entry by immigration official into a lengthy judicial process. If arrested after crossing the border, the illegal border crossers apply for asylum, but can’t be deported without an immigration hearing before an immigration judge. Since the backlog of cases now stands at about 700,000, they know they will be detained for a brief period before being released with notices to appear at hearing set years into the future. They call the notices “permisos” because they permit them to reside in the United States without fear of arrest until the date of their hearing. They know no one will look for them if they fail to appear.
39
If you enter into Australia illegally or overstay your visa, you are NEVER allowed back into the country for ANY reason. Forget about applying for residency or asylum, ever.
You break the laws once and you are done, forever.
26
There is no "simply administrative decision" even when you proclaim your intentions at a port of entry. You get put in the same lengthy judicial process regardless of whether you enter illegally or you declare yourself at a port of entry, provided you can demonstrate a credible fear of persecution. If you want to encourage more people to utilize the process of applying at a POE, perhaps you should lobby Congress to change the laws that mandate jailing asylum-seekers who declare themselves at the border (it is called mandatory detention for arriving aliens, and there is no right to a hearing before a judge.) Yes, SOME get paroled out, but many remain in detention throughout the pendency of their proceedings for the sole crime of offering themselves for inspection at a POE versus entering illegally.
Refugee law, both international and American, prohibits denying asylum solely because of the illegality of the entry. Sorry, this is a country of laws, not of men, and we need to follow the law.
Did any of these folks apply for asylum in Mexico?
47
The NYT is a great investigative paper. Just who is paying for the buses and was there a recruiting effort in the places of origin? Was this done to bring forth a political agenda of any group? An effort of this magnitude takes organizing and money. How about as much effort as you’ve put in trying to find Russian involvement in the election to see what’s behind this.
51
Perhaps reading the article would answer some of your questions.
1
I feel affronted. Why are they waving the flag of their Homeland if it is so bad they have to demand entry and government aid from the US?
I know we have enough poor and under employed already - there is no need to import the same from other countries.
It should be against the law to tutor these people in what to say to media and our immigration services and provide them support in their attempts to take advantage of tax supported services.
48
The door to the United States is now wide open.
Anyone can simply present themselves to the United States and request asylum. They will be admitted and given a court date, but never appear and simply sink into the underground economy. Every ten years we’ll then be subjected to a media-led effort to “bring them out of the shadows” and make them citizens. Wash, rinse, repeat.
What is the point of borders? What good is a wall? What good are any immigration laws?
For that matter, what is the need for human smugglers? Legitimate companies can now simply organize caravan tours in which anyone from around the world can fly to Mexico, attend a two-day seminar on how to request asylum, and then take a tour bus right to the U.S. border.
The Soros/Koch Brothers dream of destroying national sovereignty is coming true.
37
Many issues to consider. (1) Does the USA's laws require USA to allow anybody to apply for asylum based upon the claims these persons are making? If so, Trump-Pence (again) are flouting the law. (2) Trump's campaign rant in Washington, MI, included comments about need to allow H-2A worker due to few workers available. Therefore, why are these persons not permitted to seek asylum and get jobs that Americans are unwilling to take? Our approach to absorbing new immigrants requires thoughtful restructuring to meet our Country's needs. (3) One must consider what would have faced these 200 migrants at the USA boarder had the press NOT made such a fuss over this tiny group? Trump-Pence survive only because the press focuses upon the hot buttons. The press, including the NYT, would do far better by focusing upon the policies that have long lasting effects and didactically detail the effects (e.g. removal of California's right to regulate it's air standards thereby forcing CA to accept vehicles that pollute more resulting in return of smog).
There is much that is thought-provoking in this article. However, there’s one overarching matter that few seem to be discussing: there is a “wall” in Tijuana, at which the caravan participants presented themselves legally. Despite the belief that is the cure-all for our proud country— keeping out smuggled drugs, illegal voters and rapists. Well, perhaps the wall isn’t particularly effective for keeping asylum-seekers from arriving at our walled border to plead for their safety, but there’s no doubt it will keep out the Chinese fentanyl that is killing the good people who were born here as well as others who weren’t too lazy to fill out documentation paperwork.
Then why is the Chinese fentanyl here?
1
Enough fentanyl can be sent in an envelope to kill a hundred horses.
From my vantage point these people are exercizing their right to migrate within the confines of the host country immigration laws, including ours. Complain all you want but if you don't like what you see then change the law.
I for one support their efforts to immigrate here under the law. They have every right to try.
3
You clearly don't know US immigration laws. If you really support them, then walk your talk. Sponsor them for a permanent residence.
2
I read the 5 comments that have been posted. Only one spoke of compassion thus far, Hal S from Earth.
The majority of Latin Americans who have immigrated to the United States do so to provide a better life for their children, and they succeed at that, and pay taxes, and fill jobs that native citizens would never consider as more than a summer job.
3
I'm sure that MS-13 members and drug traffickers also come because they are seeking "a better life." Same with workers who take jobs for less than Americans will, driving down wages for all.
There's probably several billion people in the world who would come to the U.S. "seeking a better life" if they could. How many should we take, in your compassionate opinion?
30
And don't forget they siphon monies from taxes citizens and legal aliens pay, as well as social security benefits. (If you think social security is only paid to those who have paid into it, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.) Thus, if this illegal immigration situation continues, Medicare (which used to be 100% paid) will go from 80/20 to 70/30, 60/40, 50/50 etc. If they bring a child or have one here, they end up with more financial benefits than I will when I retire (correction, IF I retire).
10
The rotted elements in their own nations that they created are their sons, fathers, grandfathers, uncles and neighbors. American citizens are under no obligation to continue paying for tens of millions of people who come here only for our money and jobs, while sending home much of that money to fund villages filled with their violent sons, fathers, grandfather, uncles, neighbors whom they are allegedly running from.
7
Mexico should be very careful with their approach to this issue. They risk turning Tijuana into a "Calais" of North America. Compounding the problem, the Baja relies on almost its entire water source from the Colorado. American Federal cooperation and investment is necessary for this to continue. (Minute 323)
21
Mexico issues 3-day transit visas on their southern border. We have reciprocal agreements not only with Mexico, but Europe, Canada and others. We have agreed to not issue transit visas to individuals unless they have an entry visa issued by the destination country.
Close the Ports of Entry and recall our ambassador until Mexico removes the Caravan from our border and demonstrates it will STOP the border-dumping - immediately. This is ridiculous - Mexico is inducing a humanitarian crisis.
57
There is $1.5 billion in trade crossing the border every day. Do you want to do severe harm to the American economy over 200 refugees?
Yes.
Because it isn't just about the 200. It's about the millions behind them, watching to see whether they succeed.
Illegal immigration already costs us over $100 billion annually. It's worth some short-term pain to show that we mean business, to put a stop to the long-term problem.
30
Three hundred people is a “humanitarian crises”?
Again, why is Mexico not providing full sanctuary and economic relief to these "distressed" migrants, who were allowed to traverse the length of Mexico without being subject to the usual detention and deportation that Mexico usually practices with anyone who dares to cross its southern border?
66
You are misinformed. When the news of the caravan first made the American press, there were 1000 members, now there are 200. The others remained in Mexico with the protection of the government. The remaining member chose to try for refugee status in the US. Also, Mexico does not detain immigrants.
2
The situation in many other countries (like Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, most African countries etc., are equally bad, if not far worse than any Latin American country at any day. Then, there are many enthusiastic people or economic opportunists, who would be more than happy to lie and avail this route. Economic opportunists from a distant country like India already became the fastest growing illegal immigrants in the US.
Should we allow these people and tell rest of the potential immigrants/refugees that they somehow need to be at the American border or enter US illegally? Once they are at the border or inside USA, everything would be fine in due time, so long they remain a strong political force and promise to vote for certain party.
Such arm twisting by human traffickers who organize such caravans and a large number of (mostly Catholic) priests and churches must not be tolerated or encouraged. Humanity and empathy should not be equated to criminal intent or encouraging law breaking.
30
The law requires that people who claim to be fleeing violence apply for asylum in the first safe country they come to. For these Central Americans, that would be Mexico. How can they possibly have legitimate asylum claims in the United States? They want to come to the U.S. because our standard of living is better. That is not asylum-seeking. They should be turned back at the border unless they can show that they applied for asylum in Mexico and were denied.
53
Agreed. But mexico has tough immigration laws. Imagine that! Saw that one of first "asylum" seekers is a pregnant woman with two children.....how about we fix that water in flynt, and 10,000 other things before we take in people that will not support themselves, but expect the us taxpayers to do so. How about we enforce our borders? How about we ask mexico why they are such hypocrites when it comes to immigration?
28
If you read their stories, many have family in the US.
Of course they do! Because LBJ and the U.S. Congress in 1965 greatly damaged the nation by completely rewriting immigration law to allow in 1 million immigrants every year - most of whom are from Mexico, Central and South America and Africa. And no one since then has had the guts to fix our laws to protect and strengthen our borders and nation from foreign invaders. Until there are no American children hungry and homeless, until every American is safe and secure - especially females - from gangs and drug cartels , shut down that border and end chain migration.
4
The situation in several Central American nations is bad enough to qualify many from there as legitimate asylum seekers. While this may strain USA resources we have a duty to mobilize and act with compassion, and an even higher one to fulfil our role in the world. Coverage should focus on this point and the progress being made (or not) versus the hyperbola of Trump trying to score political points with his limited remaining base.
22
We just gave a 2.3 trillion dollar tax break to multi-national corporations and the extremely wealthy, which every indication shows they are ploughing back into their own stocks at a large profit. If we can afford that, helping 200 asylum seekers won't break the bank.
But thanks for emphasising the need for a compassionate global role for the USA - too many people seem to have written it off in favour of a formula where cruelty=toughness=effective policy making.
8
"While this may strain USA resources we have a duty to mobilize and act with compassion..."
We have no such duty. You're making that up. Mexico has a far greater "duty", as the first safe country that these "asylum seekers" entered.
14
So shall we just transplant the 11 million citizens of Honduras to the US? If your assertion is correct, and we are morally obligated to help these souls - how do you defend not doing everything you possibly can for the other 11.9 million of them in Honduras? And the millions more in Central America?
26