Hundreds protest migrants in Tijuana

Hundreds of Tijuana residents on Sunday protested the arrival of thousands of Central American migrants who are now waiting in the Mexican city to make asylum claims in the U.S., The Associated Press reported.

Residents gathered in a wealthy section of Tijuana, where they chanted “Out! Out!” and claimed the migrants were a danger. The AP reported that the group called the arrival of the migrants an “invasion,” echoing language used by President Trump.

Fewer than a dozen people gathered to hold signs in support of the migrants, the AP reported.

{mosads}Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum said on Sunday that the city is not well-equipped to handle the additional thousands of people.

The city converted multiple municipal spaces into shelters that can hold nearly 4,000 people, but Gastelum told the AP that the migrants could be there for months as they wait for the U.S. to process asylum claims.

Thousands of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have in recent weeks made their way toward the U.S. southern border in hopes of being granted asylum as they flee violence and poverty in their home countries.

Trump demonized the caravan in the weeks before the midterm elections, painting the group as an imminent national security threat and baselessly demeaning its members as “criminals” and “thugs.”

The president has deployed troops to the border and signed a proclamation curbing asylum claims in response to the caravan, though he has not spoken publicly about the issue since the midterm elections.