Asylum Seekers Are Being Turned Away Ilegally at the U.S.-Mexico Border VICE News
go to original February 19, 2017

Customs and Border Protection agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry — the largest crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border, connecting Tijuana and San Diego — have been routinely and illegally turning away asylum seekers for the past several months, according to immigration advocates.

Migrants who present themselves at the port of entry are told to go to Grupos Beta, a unit of Mexican immigration, to be given a date at which to return to the border. According to federal law, border agents are supposed to grant an interview with an asylum officer to migrants who requests asylum or express fear of returning to their country.

Nicole Ramos, a U.S. immigration attorney based in Tijuana, regularly accompanies her clients to the port of entry. “When we get to the port of entry, we approach a CBP officer, and I invariably explain: ‘This person is seeking asylum,’” she said. “Almost every single time, except for one time in the past year, a CBP officer has always said that a person can’t apply for asylum there.”

Related: Stopping Border Immigration: As Trump Builds His Wall, a Battle Wages Over Human Rights Conflicts (IBTimes)

Related: Mexicans Asking for Asylum in the United States Stranded at the Border (The Fulano Forum)

Related: Trump Asylum Policy Could Upend US-Mexico Relations (CNN)

Related: The Vatican ‘Concerned’ by the Anti-Immigration Decree of the U.S Pres. Donald Trump (Facts Keeper)

Related: How the United States' Spat with Mexico Will Crush Central American Refugees (Amnesty International)

Almost nine thousand Mexicans applied to the United States for asylum last year, saying they feared for their lives. But only 124 were actually granted the right to live in the U-S. Adam Raney spoke to one man on the Mexico-US border, who says his life depends on escaping his country. (Al Jazeera English)

An unprecedented number of African and Haitian migrants have entered Mexico in the past few weeks, hoping to seek asylum in the US. But the surge of arrivals has left many stuck in long queues, temporary camps or on the street. Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez reports from Tijuana. (Al Jazeera English)

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