Migrants from caravan line up to apply for asylum

A remnant of the migrant caravan that marched through Mexico reached the U.S. border near San Diego on Sunday. About 200 men, women, and children came to the border to ask for asylum from persecution in their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Mexican officials let about 50 of the migrants pass through a gate on the Mexican side of the border, but they had to wait outside the U.S. inspection facility. The building can hold about 300 people and had reached capacity for those without legal documents, said Kevin McAleenan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner. The site processed about 8,000 asylum cases from October through February, or about 50 a day. Asylum seekers are usually held for up to three days at the border and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If they pass an asylum officer’s initial screening, they may be detained or released into the United States with ankle monitors.