Members of a group of Honduran migrants, which included a mother who had been photographed running with her daughters from tear gas several weeks ago, began seeking asylum at the US border with Mexico on Monday, according to a Reuters witness and lawyers for the group.
The group comprised mostly teens but also included Maria Meza and her children, the lawyers said.
The family appeared in a widely circulated photograph taken by Reuters as they fled tear gas thrown by US authorities during a protest at the border last month when some migrants rushed the US fence.
Sandra Cordero, from advocacy group Families Belong Together, which accompanied the migrants, said eight unaccompanied minors were being processed for asylum.
Meza and her family were also being processed, Cordero said.
Maria Meza and her children, a migrant family, part of a caravan of thousands traveling from Central America en route to the United States, run away from tear gas in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico, November 25, 2018. The family began seeking asylum at the US border with Mexico on Monday
Maria Meza (2nd from R) runs away from tear gas with her daughters Jamie Mejia Meza, aged 12, and her five-year-old twin daughters Saira Mejia Meza and Cheili Mejia Meza (L-R) in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico on November 25, 2018
A system dubbed 'metering' limits how many can ask for asylum each day at US ports of entry, leading to months-long waits in Mexico for thousands of migrants fleeing violence in Central America.
Sometimes US border authorities allow individuals considered vulnerable, such as unaccompanied minors, be processed more rapidly. Activists said the group on Monday fit that category.
Democratic US Representatives Jimmy Gomez and Nanette Barragan, along with lawyers, accompanied the group at the Otay Mesa port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, on Monday afternoon, the Reuters witness said.
Gomez wrote on Twitter: After 7hrs, I can now confirm: Maria Meza & her kids - featured in this @Reuters image fleeing tear gas at the border last month - just filed for asylum.
Meza, 40, sits with her five-year-old twin daughters, Cheili Mejia Meza and Saira Mejia Meza, inside their tent in a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, November 26, 2018
The mother holds her daughter as she waits at the Otay Mesa port of entry in San Diego, California to be processed as an asylum seeker, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico December 17, 2018
'They’re on American soil. @RepBarragan & I are still here observing conditions on the ground.'
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents had said the port of entry was full, Gomez said.
Surrounded by advocates and lawyers, the migrants sat by a metal turnstile, having gone beyond a sign marking the division between Mexico and the United States.
But by Monday evening, after more than four hours waiting, CBP officials came to let several unaccompanied minors pass through.
The asylum seekers had been part of groups of thousands of migrants known as caravans that left from Central America and arrived in Tijuana in recent months.
US President Donald Trump declared the caravans an 'invasion,' and sent several thousand troops to 'harden' the border, including with barbed wire.
Democratic US Representatives Jimmy Gomez (left) and Nanette Barragan, (right) along with lawyers, accompanied the group at the Otay Mesa port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, on Monday afternoon, the Reuters witness said
Activists say metering is intended to deter asylum applicants by making the process arduous, while US officials maintain the system only exists to manage overcapacity at ports of entry.
CBP said in response to questions that this year it had seen a more than 100 percent increase in asylum seekers processed at ports of entry and that it processed people as quickly as possible.
'As we have done for several years, when our ports of entry reach capacity, we have to manage the queues and individuals presenting without documents may need to wait in Mexico as CBP officers work to process those already within our facilities.'
Lawyers from Al Otro Lado were also with the children.
The organization has accompanied vulnerable groups to the border in order to request asylum, bypassing the semi-formal list system that controls the numbers of migrants who try to enter each day.
Earlier this month, a single mother and her 9-year-old daughter were able to ask for asylum at the San Ysidro port of entry only after a congresswoman - who was touring the port at the time - stepped in and told CBP officers they were required to process them by law, according to Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/19/migrant-family-who-fled-tear-gas-at-u-s-border-seeks-asylum/
Main photo article Members of a group of Honduran migrants, which included a mother who had been photographed running with her daughters from tear gas several weeks ago, began seeking asylum at the US border with Mexico on Monday, according to a Reuters witness and lawyers for the group.
The group comprised mostly...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/18/23/7594220-6509955-image-a-1_1545176612146.jpg
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