Big Caravan of Migrants Seeking US-Asylum Is Stuck at Border

A large caravan of Central American migrants has reached the US-Mexico border seeking asylum in the US, but their mission is on hold.

Migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have traveled for a month, making their way through Mexico to the San Diego border Sunday – the busiest crossing in the United States.

They desperately want asylum in the US. Some families are even willing to risk being separated to cross the border.

But US authorities say this crossing is already at capacity, and they cannot allow any more asylum seekers. Migrants say they'll wait as long as it takes.

"We're fighting for a better future," migrant Manuel Ramirez said.

The nearly 200 migrants say they're escaping conflict in their home countries like MS-13 gang violence and LGBT persecution.

Supporters and protesters showed up at the border as well.

"If they really wanted asylum, they would have claimed asylum in Mexico," said Jeff Schwilk, founder of San Diegans for Secure Borders. 

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the caravan and US immigration laws.

"Are you watching that mess that's going on right now with the caravan coming up? And our laws are so weak," he said. 

The president tweeted last week that he's instructed the secretary of Homeland Security "not to let these large caravans of people into our country."

He also tweeted, "We are the only country in the world so naive!" and followed that up with the word, "WALL." 

The US government has seen the large caravan coming for weeks. At one point US Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the caravan "a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system." 

But American lawyers are also at the border providing free advice to these migrants, saying that going back to their home countries is not an alternative for many.

Attorney Nicole Ramos said, "What lies ahead is still less terrifying than what is behind them and what they have fled."

The US Customs and Border Protection commissioner says the border facility near San Diego is at capacity for people who do not have legal documents and are wanting to enter the US.

The commissioner says the crossing will allow people to enter when space and resources become available.