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MEXICO-US-POLITICS-MIGRATION
Migrants block US-Mexico border crossing, force closure
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico, Oct 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Hundreds of Central
American migrants blocked a border crossing Thursday between the Mexican city
of Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas, demanding the United States let them in
to apply for asylum.
The migrants camped out on the border bridge overnight, leading officials
to close it for more than nine hours, said US and Mexican authorities.
They finally agreed to leave the bridge under a deal brokered by local
officials, said Matamoros Mayor Mario Alberto Lopez Hernandez.
“We have reached a deal on good terms with the migrants, and also held
talks with the authorities in Brownsville,” he told AFP.
He said Matamoros, a bustling crossing point between the two countries, had
felt the impact of the closure.
“It affected the city, because that bridge is used for daily trade. Anyone
trying to cross in either direction was affected.”
He did not give further details on the deal reached with the migrants.
US Customs and Border Protection said cross-border traffic “was temporarily
halted at about 1:30 am after a group of 250 to 300 migrants without entry
documents… gathered at the midpoint of the Gateway Bridge.”
The United States has dramatically restricted access for migrants seeking
to request asylum, most of whom President Donald Trump’s administration says
are “economic refugees,” rather than people actually fleeing for their lives.
Trump has pushed Mexico to crack down on the surging number of Central
Americans crossing its territory toward the United States.
In June, he threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexican goods if
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s government did not do more to stop
irregular migration.
Anxious to avoid a trade war with its giant northern neighbor, the
destination for 80 percent of its exports, Mexico agreed to a massive policy
shift.
It has deployed 21,000 National Guardsmen to reinforce its borders and
accepted the return of more than 50,000 asylum seekers, who must now wait in
Mexico while their claims are processed.
Mexico’s immigration authority said the migrants in Matamoros have all been
given legal residence and Mexican identity documents, enabling them to stay
on the Mexican side.
“They can integrate here. There are many foreigners who are working and we
are inviting them to stay,” said Segismundo Martinez, the immigration
authority’s representative in Matamoros.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0907 hrs