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

Migrants enveloped in tear gas after heading toward 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.

Amid the tear gas crisis, Mr Trump has continued to demand Congress fund his proposed border wall, running the 2,000 miles of the US-Mexico border, cutting through land in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. 

Mr Trump had, for nearly two years on the campaign trail and in the White House, promised Mexico would foot the massive bill for the project without ever saying why or how they would do so.

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. 

Saturday Night Live skit parodies Fox News coverage of Migrant Caravan

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". 

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.

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. 

Donald Trump defends use of tear gas at Mexico border

A poll in El Universal, one of Mexico's largest newspapers, showed 52 per cent supported the idea while 40 per cent opposed it. 

 

The poll stated 70 per cent of Mexicans had some sort of negative view about the migrant caravan. 

 

Just about half supported blocking the migrants' entry into Mexico, which with this latest caravan was via a crossing point on the Suchiate River bordering Guatemala. Around 55 per cent supported the Mexican government taking harsher measures to prevent future caravans. 

 

Support for the migrants has been declining even from their steadfast Mexican supporters. 

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." 

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"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.

The San Ysidro port of entry has a more than $220 billion dollar economy passing through its gates.

San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce on yesterday’s port of entry shutdown. pic.twitter.com/Xphgd4TkEt

— Maya Srikrishnan (@msrikris) November 27, 2018

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Key Points

• Trump says the use of tear gas on migrants was 'very safe' 
• Mexico has asked for a full investigation of the tear gas incident
• A Mexican immigrant who sought refuge in a North Carolina church is set to be deported 

[27 November 2018 20:48 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Yesterday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham responded to Democratic Congresswoman-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comparison of the migrant crisis with the Holocaust. 

He said she should "take a tour of the Holocaust Museum" in Washington, DC, which documents the Second World War genocide of Jews all over Europe. 

Today, the Auschwitz Museum responded with a subtweet of Mr Graham pointing out the Holocaust "did not start with gas chambers" but was a gradual development many critics of the Trump administration are worried is repeating now. 

[27 November 2018 21:10 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Just a reminder: There are actually American troops stationed along the US-Mexico border. US border patrol agents were the ones who the tear gas, however. 

Approximately 300 US troops stationed at the border in Texas and Arizona have now been given a new assignment in California, specifically around the San Ysidro port of entry near San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico. 

The move comes after US Customs and Border Protection asked the Pentagon for help to stop illegal immigration. 

According to the US military 2,400 troops are in Texas, 1,400 are in Arizona and 1,800 are currently in California.

[27 November 2018 21:17 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Speaking of the US military - while Defence Secretary James Mattis did not address the migrant caravan in comments about the US military's challenges in the western hemisphere, Navy Admiral Kurt Tidd said the caravan is an example of one.  

"We have to be more attentive to the threats in this hemisphere. What affects one, affects all," Mr Tidd said, adding that lawlessness and high crime in some countries "are the drivers of migration from Central America." 

[27 November 2018 21:24 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Here is a map and timeline of the area of the San Ysidro port where the tear gas incident took place, made by the LA Times. US border officials reportedly used canisters of the gas multiple times to disperse the crowd rushing the border barrier. 

LA Times 

[27 November 2018 21:51 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Amid the tear gas crisis, Donald Trump continues to demand Congress fund his proposed border wall, running the 2,000 miles of the US-Mexico border, cutting through land in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. 

Mr Trump had, for nearly two years on the campaign trail and in the White House, promised Mexico would foot the massive bill for the project without ever saying why or how they would do so. 

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. 

[27 November 2018 21:54 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

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". 

[27 November 2018 22:11 · Mythili Sampathkumar]

Thank you for reading our updates on the migrant caravan crisis at the San Diego-Tijuana border. Stay tuned to the independent.co.uk/us for more of our reporting on this developing matter.