November 20, 2018

The Caravan Meets Resistance in Tijuana

“This is an invasion,” said one resident. “We demand respect. We demand our laws be followed.”

The first wave of the Central American caravasion reached the Mexican border city of Tijuana over the weekend, and the locals aren’t happy with the new arrivals. Thousands of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador swamped the city, many staying at makeshift shelters at the Benito Juarez sports complex. Others are camping in the streets, squatting wherever they can find space, often on private property.

Tijuana is a major rendezvous point for people seeking to enter the United States, and the city has suitable infrastructure to handle new arrivals. The scale of the caravan, however, caught the city by surprise and is taxing its public resources.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum called the wave of illegal immigrants a “tsunami.” He explained, “It was different with the Haitians, they carried papers, they were in order. It wasn’t a horde, pardon the expression.”

Moreover, Gastelum argued, “Human rights should be reserved for righteous humans.” In other words, showing up doesn’t mean you have the rights of citizens.

The citizens of Tijuana agree with their mayor. Residents held a major protest over the weekend, calling on the caravan to disperse and go home. “This is an invasion,” said one resident. “We demand respect. We demand our laws be followed.”

Gastelum has called upon the Mexican government to do something to divert or turn back migrants headed toward his city. Mexican immigration officials estimate up to 10,000 Central American migrants on the move in Mexico right now. Furthermore, wait times to get into the U.S. could stretch out for six months. Migrants complain that they don’t have the money or food to wait that long. Mexicans say they don’t have the facilities to house them for that long, either.

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government would revoke asylum for any immigrants caught crossing into the U.S. illegally (though a Barack Obama-appointed judge just struck that down). This, along with the end of the disastrous catch-and-release policy of the Obama administration and increased troop presence on the border, sends the signal that the U.S. government intends to secure its border.

For the moment, the migrants in Tijuana have decided to sit tight and let the asylum process play out. But that can’t last for long. Resources are already in short supply, and more migrants are expected in Tijuana and elsewhere. Gastelum has cited instances of violence and law-breaking already among migrants. American Homeland Security officials estimate more than 500 hardcore criminals are traveling among the migrants. They have noted that women and children march at the front of the caravans for the television cameras.

Leftists will continue managing this story in the media as best they can, from creating a myth around the need for asylum to falsely assuming that foreigners have a right to be in the United States. It will become more difficult, though, when citizens of both the U.S. and Mexico resist being made pawns in this conspiracy to delegitimize border security and national sovereignty.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.