Tensions over the arrival of Central American migrants has increased as the mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana and the governor of the state of Baja California warned that there will be zero tolerance for visitors who violate the law.
Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), tried to justify his statements, which were published on Friday, in which he expressed his rejection of the presence of Central American migrants and his intention to have them deported.
"We want Article 33 of the Constitution to be applied to them. Tijuana is a city of migrants, but we don't want them this way," the official said, alluding to the precept of the Mexican Constitution that provides for the expulsion of foreigners.
Later he clarified that he was referring only to those who violate the laws and not to those who conduct themselves with order, and he only labelled "potheads" against those who smoked that drug and not to all the migrants.
A woman, part of the caravan of Central American migrants hoping to reach the U.S. border, prays at a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Source: AP
"We are anti-potheads, just as we are anti-drunks," he said.
In an interview the official said he would hold a citizen consultation to decide whether to continue receiving migrants and what to do with those already in the city.
He also indicated that the consultation could take place when the federal government sends the resources to help the Central Americans, for which the state requested $4 million.
A migrant child sits outside a tent, taking shelter at the Jesus Martinez stadium in Mexico City. Source: AP
He stated that Tijuana is experiencing a problem caused by the federal government, which "indolently allowed the entry of many people" in reference to the entry "without any order" of thousands of migrants on Oct. 19 from Guatemala.
He questioned why Central Americans decided to come to Tijuana when it is known that it is very difficult to cross into the United States and that there are other borders crossings, closer to the centre of the country, where migrants have converged before continuing their march north.
A local man steps out of his shanty on the Mexican side of the border next to the structure that separates Mexico and the United States, in Tijuana. Source: AP
But there was no response from him, nor from the municipal secretary of Public Security, Marco Antonio Sotomayor, about the brawl that started early Thursday morning when a group of residents arrived at a migrant camp in the area of the beaches in Tijuana to scold the Central Americans and demand their departure.
