The first waves of caravan migrants, totaling nearly 500, mostly men, reached the U.S. border at San Diego this week. One group of about 350-400 arrived Tuesday with many of them climbing a tall border fence in an act of defiance as Border Patrol agents watched from a distance. Two migrants were filmed jumping over the fence, located at the Playas De Tijuana and San Diego border, taunting Border Patrol officers assembled at a watchful distance before climbing back up the fence to the Mexican side.
A few days earlier a group of about 85 migrants arrived in Tijuana accompanied by U.S. lawyers who were paying their expenses.
“The first group of people from the migrant caravan have arrived in Tijuana, according to a Mexican journalist.
“According to journalist Jorge Nieto, the group has 85 people. This group is reportedly people of the LGBTQ+ community and they left the others behind because they felt they were being discriminated against.
“They arrived at the Tijuana bus station, then took buses to an Airbnb in Playas de Tijuana, paid for by U.S. lawyers with the caravan.
“Once at the house, neighbors clashed with the migrants, “Yelling at them go away go to a shelter, this is not your place, all you came here this is a safe area and we are afraid of you,” Nieto said shelters aren’t an option as they are already over capacity from the last caravan.”
That claim was contradicted by a later report that there is room for 900 migrants at Tijuana shelters.
Desert Sun – USA Today reporter Rebecca Plevin posted a photo of the fence climbers on Tuesday but then deleted the photo from Twitter. Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies, reposted the photo.
The first wave of the caravan (which we were assured wouldn't arrive for weeks), climbing onto the border fence between Tijuana & San Diego. (Photo posted then deleted by @rebeccaplevin.) pic.twitter.com/p92wGIftPv
— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) November 13, 2018
Plevin posted and did not delete other photos and videos of the caravan reaching Tijuana and the San Diego border.
Through the fence, you can see five Customs and Border Protection agents on bikes and three on horseback. There are at least six agents on foot as well, keeping any eye on the fence. pic.twitter.com/msS5bE0d7i
— Rebecca Plevin (@rebeccaplevin) November 13, 2018
Eight buses full of caravan members have left the toll booth between Mexicali and Tijuana and will reach the city limits in a couple minutes. pic.twitter.com/IP9BLBrkzN
— Rebecca Plevin (@rebeccaplevin) November 13, 2018
I spoke with a rep of state government of Baja California. He says there’s room for about 900 people to sleep in migrant shelters and local churches. That means there’s room for first wave of about 400 migrants who have arrived in Tijuana; thousands more expected soon. pic.twitter.com/t16jxSrhDa
— Rebecca Plevin (@rebeccaplevin) November 13, 2018
Desert Sun – USA Today photo journalist J. Omar Ornelas posted sympathetic artistic photos of the migrants at the border fence.
Migrant Caravan arrives heads to Playas de Tijuana. pic.twitter.com/qfCA1k0PNJ
— J. Omar Ornelas (@fotornelas) November 13, 2018
The first wave of the migrant caravan has arrived in Tijuana, México. @MyDesert @USATODAY pic.twitter.com/g7usI6NrrR
— J. Omar Ornelas (@fotornelas) November 13, 2018
More photos by Ornelas of the caravan at Tijuana and the border fence posted at USA Today.
Video:
The video shows migrant caravan members climb atop the border fence at Playas de Tijuana as U.S. Border Patrol agents monitor from the U.S. side. https://t.co/OcItRugEhv pic.twitter.com/ZwQfg32DtB
— The Patriot 1360 AM (@Patriot1360) November 14, 2018
Buzzfeed reported the Trump administration is beefing up security at the Tijuana-San Diego border.
“Border officials have shut down multiple lanes of traffic at the crossing between Tijuana and San Diego — one of the busiest in the world — as troops install wires, barriers, and fencing in anticipation of a caravan of Central American migrants moving toward the port.”
…”The first group of people from the caravan started to arrive in the last few days. On Tuesday a group of about 350 people who were at one point part of the main caravan making its way north arrived in Tijuana. Late Sunday a contingent of 78 LGBT people from the caravan arrived on buses from Mexico City paid for my (sic) advocacy organizations in the United States.”
Facebook video of the caravan in Tijuana posted by Frontera.info. fence jumpers at about 42 minute mark.
https://www.facebook.com/Frontera.info/videos/291940404861697/