Mexico City: Mexico will deport almost 500 migrants who attempted to storm the US border, according to its interior ministry.
The group were rounded up after trying to cross the border “violently” and “illegally” on Sunday, November 25, the ministry said in a statement, BBC reported.
Video footage shows dozens of people – including women and children – running towards the fence that separates the two countries near the city of Tijuana.
They were repelled by tear gas used by US border officers.
Mexico’s interior ministry said all those who were identified as having tried to cross would be deported immediately.
It added, “far from helping their objectives”, the migrants’ actions had violated the legal migration framework and could have led to a “serious incident”.
Tensions have been high in Tijuana since the arrival of thousands of migrants earlier this month.
The migrants are in Tijuana after travelling more than 4,000 km from Central America.
They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
However, they now face a long wait to see if their asylum applications will be accepted by the US, with President Donald Trump vowing to keep each migrant on the Mexican side of the border until courts have decided their case. This could take months.
Amid growing desperation on Sunday, the group of about 500 migrants — who had been taking part in a peaceful protest for the right to seek political asylum in the US — made a run for the border.
Mexico’s Home Secretary, Alfonso Navarrete, said the group had asked for help to organise the demonstration but had reportedly been encouraged by some of the movement’s leaders to split into different groups and try to cross into the US.
