Migrant caravan arrives at U.S. border

A caravan of about 170 Central American asylum seekers arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday evening. They plan to join about 200 other migrants there and attempt to enter the United States through San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, with the help of advocacy groups, beginning Sunday. Similar caravans are fairly common at the crossing, but this one has drawn unusual attention because of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. The president on Thursday cited the caravan as justification for the wall he wants to build to stop illegal border crossings even though the migrants plan to cross through an existing border checkpoint and apply for legal asylum status. “We need a strong, impenetrable WALL that will end this problem once and for all,” he wrote to supporters in a 2020 campaign fundraising email. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen warned late Wednesday that any person trying to cross into the U.S. who makes false claims to immigration authorities will be subject to criminal prosecution. She also said asylum seekers in the caravan should request protection in the first safe country they reach, including Mexico. The U.S. government is gathering resources to ensure that cases are promptly decided, Nielsen said. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said he may assign additional immigration judges to handle cases involving members of the caravan.