Rafael Carranza Arizona Republic Published 10:44 PM EST Nov 9, 2018 NOGALES — Border officials in Arizona, and the military commander for 1,500 active-duty troops deployed to the state, said they are fortifying the border and warned asylum seekers against trying to enter the United States illegally. The warning comes as President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Friday morning that bars any migrant who crosses the U.S.-Mexico border illegally from claiming asylum. Several civil liberties groups immediately filed a lawsuit against Trump’s action. Both developments were largely prompted by the hundreds of mostly Central American migrants traveling toward the United States in a caravan. The caravan is in Mexico City, still hundreds of miles from the border. It is heading to Tijuana, following in the footsteps of a smaller caravan earlier this year. As that previous caravan approached the border in April, it splintered. And many of those migrants, also made up mostly of parents and children, ended up in Nogales and other ports of entry along the way to Tijuana. MORE: Why a U.S. citizen helps coordinate migrant caravans that Trump condemns as invaders Customs and Border Protection leaders told reporters they are preparing for that possibility. But the main message they pushed Friday was for asylum-seekers to go through designated areas at ports of entry, warning them they could face arrest if they don’t do so. “We are not trying to prevent people who are coming lawfully,” said Rodolfo Karisch, the chief patrol agent for Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector. “But we will arrest those who enter our country… [Read full story]
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