Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 27 September 2019
Groups: Migrants told to wait in Mexico faced 'bait, switch'

By ELLIOT SPAGAT country and failing to seek
Associated Press asylum there.
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — A U.S. officials have repeat-
Peruvian family that waited edly said the right way to
for six months at the Mexi- seek asylum is to request it
can border finally got their at border crossings, instead
chance to make their case of entering illegally. That
for U.S. asylum Thursday. has caused tens of thou-
But because they waited sands of migrants to wait
there as officials recom- in often-dangerous Mexi-
mended, they face a new can border cities under an
reality: Anyone who trav- opaque, haphazard sys-
eled through a third coun- tem of waiting lists that vary
try and is seeking asylum sharply by city.
after July 16 will be denied. Lists are managed by
If they had sneaked in ille- Mexican immigration au-
gally when they arrived in thorities, local or state au-
Tijuana, they would have thorities, migrant shelters or
escaped the Trump ad- migrants themselves, de-
ministration's partial asylum pending on the city.
ban. The asylum ban applies to
"The family wanted to do people who entered the
it the way it's supposed to U.S. on or after July 16 — no
be done," said Luz Bertila matter how they crossed
Zazueta, 75, who arranged Asylum seekers in Tijuana, Mexico, listen to names being called from a waiting list to claim asylum the border — including
free lodging for them and at a border crossing in San Diego Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. people who arrived before
joined neighbors in ensur- Associated Press that date and decided to
ing they had enough food. wait in Mexico as instructed
The Southern Poverty Law structing migrants to wait in U.S. asylum. The Associ- "metering," has sharply lim- by U.S. authorities.
Center and other advo- Mexico for an opportunity ated Press counted 19,000 ited the number of asylum "The government cannot
cacy groups asked a judge to apply for asylum before in just four cities in late July, seekers accepted each pull such an immoral bait
Thursday to prohibit the imposing sharp restrictions including 10,000 in Tijuana day at U.S.-Mexico border and switch," according to
government from apply- on their eligibility, attorneys alone. crossings since spring 2018. the filing by the Southern
ing the new restrictions to said in a court filing. The Justice Department The administration says the Poverty Law Center, Cen-
anyone who appeared at It is difficult to know how declined to comment on policy is in place because ter for Constitutional Rights
an official border crossing many people fall into that the court filing, which is part of capacity constraints. and American Immigration
to claim asylum before the category, but the groups of a lawsuit addressing two The other is the policy that Council.
policy was announced on estimate that 26,000 peo- key practices that have left took effect Sept. 12 to It seeks immediate action
July 16. ple are on waiting lists in would-be asylum seekers deny asylum to anyone to "remedy the combined
The government played Mexican border cities to frustrated and deflated. who reached the U.S. after effect of these policies in a
"bait and switch" by in- make an initial claim for One, known officially as traveling through another single stroke."q

With selfie, El Salvador's leader urges UN to embrace tech

global gathering that has made to prove a point: "Our smartphones," he said,
gotten out of touch. "This format of gathering "are the future of the Gen-
"Believe me, many more in person is becoming in- eral Assembly."
people will see that self- creasingly obsolete." He also proposed the U.N.
ie, once I share it, than While saying the U.N. and invite ordinary people to
will hear this speech," the the General Assembly propose solutions to cli-
38-year-old, social-media- themselves aren't outdat- mate change, poverty,
adept president said. ed, he argued they need hunger and other global
If Bukele's photo seemed to embrace change and problems, and award a
to echo celebrity-circles technology to stay rele- prize of perhaps $10,000 to
selfies like Ellen DeGeneres' vant. young people who come
famous pic with fellow stars Bukele suggested the as- up with inspiring, "genuine"
at the 2014 Oscars or Kylie sembly could meet by proposals.
Jenner's similar Instagram video conference, or send While the General Assem-
shot at the Met Gala in videos to an online plat- bly chamber is seen as the
2017, it's not the first time form where other countries' diplomatic world's most
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele takes a selfie portrait during
his addresses to the 74th session of the United Nations General a country's leader has leaders could watch with- prominent stage, many
Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. snapped a selfie in an au- out having to leave their leaders also use the op-
Associated Press gust setting. Then-U.S. Presi- duties at home. portunity to interact with
dent Barack Obama, British "One week in the U.N., their counterparts one-on-
By JENNIFER PELTZ Assembly. Prime Minister David Cam- when we could be resolv- one and face-to-face on
Associated Press Nayib Bukele opened his eron and Danish Prime Min- ing issues that are impor- the sidelines. Bukele met
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The speech to the assembly ister Helle Thorning-Schmidt tant to our countries, is a Wednesday with U.S. Presi-
way El Salvador's president Thursday by taking a cell- took a selfie together at waste of time if we keep dent Donald Trump, for ex-
sees it, he just snapped a phone picture of himself at Nelson Mandela's memo- working in this format," said ample.
selfie worth a thousand the podium — and casting rial service in 2013. Bukele, who took office in No word on any selfies from
words at the U.N. General the photo as a portrait of a Bukele said his photo was June. that meeting.q