A caravan of immigrants from Central America reached the US border on Sunday, preparing for a confrontation with US immigration officials. Before handing themselves over and claiming asylum, the 400 or so immigrants were given support by hundreds of people on the other side.
The immigrants gathered at Tijuana’s border wall to meet with several hundred supporters in the Friendship Park in San Diego on Sunday morning, separated by about 100 feet. Five of the couples in the group of immigrants married at the same time on the border, fearing that they may otherwise be separated after turning themselves over to the US border authorities. The group was set to head to the San Ysidro Point of Entry to cross over into the US, which is a mile away, later in the day.
Human rights attorney Nicole Ramos, who works with the Al Otro Lado organization, told NBC News that families seeking asylum in the US were being helped in the final preparation by lawyers and will then hand themselves over to US immigration authorities. Ramos claims that strong cases have been prepared for between 115 to 185 immigrants, many of whom are minors.
Ramos added that legal reviews are of vital importance to make sure that people without valid asylum claims do not subject themselves for no reason to a system intended to deport them from the US. The caravan has been slammed by both President Donald Trump and Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.