As the standoff with members of a Central American caravan on the border between San Diego and Tijuana continues, some people who made the 2,000-mile journey are giving up on entering the United States.
A number of migrants who made it to the U.S.-Mexico border are returning home after discovering the difficulty level of entering into the United States outside a port of entry.
Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, run from tear gas released by U.S border patrol, near the border fence between Mexico and the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, November 25, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
“They had heard there would be work programs that they would be eligible for,” reported MSNBC’s Godi Schwartz. “So now that they are here in Tijuana and they have realized that it is very difficult to get into the United States, especially after what happened on Sunday, some of them are deciding to turn back.”
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he will not allow members of the caravan to enter the U.S. illegally and has shut down the border crossing for a time to prevent the caravan from flooding the crossing. (RELATED: NBC REPORTER RELEASES COUNT OF CARAVAN MIGRANTS STAYING IN SHELTER — THEY’RE MOSTLY MEN)
Mexico is offering humanitarian visas to caravan members who wish to stay in the country and has also set up a help station to aid migrants who don’t want to continue to wait for processing by the overburdened U.S. asylum system. The Mexican government is offering help to anyone who wishes to return to Honduras, something 81 caravan members decided to accept yesterday.
Unlike the weeks-long journey to reach the U.S. border, caravan members who seek help returning home can find themselves back in Honduras “in a matter of days,” according to the report.
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