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View Full Version : Group that escorts migrant caravans draws more scrutiny




Swordsmyth
12-23-2018, 11:04 PM
Critics, including former allies and some of the migrants themselves, say Pueblo Sin Fronteras downplayed the dangers of such treks, especially for families and small children, and misled the participants about how long they would have to wait on the Mexican side to apply for asylum.
Adelaida Gonzalez, 37, of Guatemala City, who joined the caravan with her 15-year-old son and neighbor, said that now that she is in Tijuana, she wishes she had accepted Mexico's offer to stay and work in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
"We were never told along the way that it would be this hard," said Gonzalez, after seeing the border wall topped with razor wire and the long waiting list for asylum seekers.


Pueblo Sin Fronteras maintains it simply accompanies the migrants to protect their rights. But the organization clearly plays an essential role: It helped charter the route, arrange bus transportation and negotiate with Mexican officials to provide protection. It also raised more than $46,000 online for emergency housing and food.
As the caravan crossed Mexico, the organization held nightly assemblies to decide the next day's destination. It alerted towns to prepare for migrants who camped in their squares.


"There is no reason to make these inhumane journeys," Alejandro Solalinde, a Mexican priest recognized for his work with migrants, said of the caravans.
Sergio Tamai, whose organization operates migrant shelters in the Tijuana area, said he called Mujica to express concerns about the Tijuana march beforehand — "and we all saw what happened — a disaster."
Migrants say they are grateful for all Pueblo Sin Fronteras has done, but they were not prepared for the long wait in Tijuana. Some 3,000 people were already in line to ask for asylum before the caravan arrived, and U.S. authorities are processing only about 100 claims per day at the crossing, resulting in overflowing shelters in Tijuana.
And the wait just got longer: The Trump administration announced Thursday that asylum seekers at the border will now be forced to wait in Mexico while their cases slowly wind their way through the clogged U.S. immigration courts. Previously, migrants were allowed into the U.S. while their claims were processed.
Esmeralda Siu, a Tijuana shelter manager, said many caravan members knew nothing about the difficulty in getting asylum.
"They come in desperation and so they hear what they want to hear," she said. As for their escorts, "it seems like they are putting the migrants at great risk."
Corona, Pueblo Sin Fronteras' founder, said that the caravans served their purpose but that he doesn't foresee the organization accompanying any more of them.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/activist-group-under-fire-over-migrant-caravan-border-171343724.html