In the United States, these protesters would be called “far right extremists”
Protesters march against migrant caravan in Tijuana; Police respond with riot gear desertsun.com/story/news/201… via @mydesert
Protesters march against migrant caravan in Tijuana; Police respond with riot gear desertsun.com/story/news/201… via @mydesert
Hundreds of Tijuana residents, opposed to what they described as the "chaos" of the Central American migrant caravan, gathered at a prominent roundabout in Tijuana Sunday morning, before marching to a large, temporary shelter, which now holds about 2,400 migrants.
They chanted "Mexico! Mexico!" and "yes to migrants, no to invaders!" They sang the national anthem and waved Mexican flags and banners and signs, with messages urging the migrants to go home and urging the government to take action.
Tijuana resident Guadalupe Barrera said the protesters oppose how the migrants entered the county. She held a sign that read in Spanish "no more caravans."
"This is not racism," she said. "We are opposed to the invasion."
"This is not racism," she said. "We are opposed to the invasion."
Barrera said Mexico doesn't have the resources to care for its own people, let alone migrants from Central America. She pointed to communities affected by a recent hurricane that hit Sinaloa and Nayarit, causing flooding and other damage and an all-time high homicide rate
"Our country doesn’t have the resources to sustain itself," she said.
Barrera also said she's concerned that the presence of the caravan would cause the U.S. to close the border, jeopardizing people who live by the Mexican border and depend on the U.S. economy.
Barrera also said she's concerned that the presence of the caravan would cause the U.S. to close the border, jeopardizing people who live by the Mexican border and depend on the U.S. economy.
America Villa, of Rosarito, said she was in Playas de Tijuana on Wednesday and watched as a young caravan member climbed up the border fence and tried to pull off a corroded part of the wall. That proved to her that some of the migrants are delinquent, she said.
Fidel Ernesto Gonzalez, of Tijuana, said the Mexican government should secure Mexico's southern border with Guatemala and require all immigrants to enter the country legally, with passports and visas.
"It's the same thing that Donald Trump is dealing with in the United States," he said. "If you want to enter the United States, you can enter but you have to do so legally."
A block away from the riot barriers, 20-year-old Kevin Flores peered at the commotion through a metal gate at the sports complex. He called the protesters racist.
"We came here for the opportunities available in the U.S. or any other country," he said.
"We came here for the opportunities available in the U.S. or any other country," he said.
About 2,400 members of a caravan of mostly Central American migrants arrived in Tijuana during the past week, and more than 1,000 in nearby Mexicali are expected to travel to Mexico's westernmost border city in the coming days.
