San Ysidro Border Crossing: Tear Gas Reportedly Fired At Migrants

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the San Ysidro port of entry in San Diego was shut down on Sunday as some central American migrants reportedly tried to breach the fence between Mexico and the United States. Pedestrian traffic and southbound lanes have reopened and officials are processing northbound cars again, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said.

Department of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen said in a statement that the CBP was forced to shut down the port of entry to ensure public safety in response to a large number of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. In her statement, Nielsen said the migrants attempted to breach legacy fence infrastructure and sought to harm CBP personnel by throwing projectiles at them.

U.S. border agents apparently fired tear gas on hundreds of migrants protesting near the border as some attempted to breach the fence between Mexico and the U.S., according to The Associated Press. The situation devolved after the group began a peaceful march to appeal for the U.S. to speed processing of asylum claims for Central American migrants marooned in Tijuana.

Mexico's Milenio TV also showed images of several migrants at the border trying to jump over the fence. A few yards away on the U.S. side, shoppers streamed in and out of an outlet mall.
U.S. Border Patrol helicopters flew overhead, while U.S. agents held vigil on foot beyond the wire fence in California.

Mexico's Interior Ministry said around 500 migrants tried to "violently" enter the U.S. The ministry said in a statement it would immediately deport those people and would reinforce security.

More than 5,000 migrants have been camped in and around a sports complex in Tijuana after making their way through Mexico in recent weeks via caravan. Many hope to apply for asylum in the U.S., but agents at the San Ysidro entry point are processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this story.

This report will be updated as more information is learned.

Photo: Migrants run from tear gas launched by U.S. agents, amid members of the press, at the top of a riverbank at the Mexico-U.S. border after a group of migrants pushed past Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and says that he has asked the United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central American migrants who have arrived in the city. Photo by Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press