First of all wishing all of you out there a Happy and prosperous New Year ! We haven't signed up for a "Go-Fund-Me" page due to the Trump shut down, but clearly a trip to Hawaii is not in the cards. Mike is still working, but is not being paid. I still have eight more wound clinic trips to go and finally the Civil War Surgery is on the mend, but this has been a complete hassle.
Still, a heads up (as if you didn't already know): AMLO will be in Tijuana today. Of interest is his scheduled meeting with the Mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulkner to discuss the ocean pollution coming from the Tijuana River and affecting San Diego beaches. Locally, Baja Malibu, Playa Blanca and SADM are all designated contaminated and the untreated sewage from Tijuana is still coming down the barranca and is gross.
And although AMLO will be receiving praise for lowering the IVA and promoting the "Border Economic Zone" he will also be met by strong resistance to the migrante problem. Many are wondering why he agreed with Trump to allow the migrantes to stay here while their cases are pending - if nothing else, it is another method used by Trump to dissuade them from achieving asylum.
Further, it is unclear if this new policy will be challenged in the US courts. What is clear however, is that Mexico (especially Tijuana) is simply not equipped to deal with the sheer numbers of thousands descending on the city. We have not heard of future concessions to mitigate the care of the migrantes, perhaps this will be an issue of discussion in the near future.
- Currently Frontera reports the numbers of migrantes in Tijuana:
Queda en Tijuana 28% de Caravana de Centroamericanos
Por, Khennia Reyes - 01/04/2019
"Only
one thousand and 74 migrants from the Central American caravan remain
in El Barretal, as a large part of the more than five thousand who were
housed managed to cross into the United States through a humanitarian
asylum or by jumping over the border wall.
This was reported by Leonardo Neri, coordinator of the
inter-institutional actions of El Barretal, who also attributed the
decrease to the migrants who decided to return to their countries and
others who managed to settle in Baja California or other states.
So the closure of the temporary shelter will be determined by the
number of migrants who leave the place in the coming days, he added.
"The objective of this shelter was temporary, it was only to address
the migrant situation of the caravan, and is fulfilling all its
objectives," said Neri.
According to other authorities in El Barretal, another 492 migrants are
distributed in other shelters in the city, 150 in 'Contra Viento y
Marea' in the Northern Zone; and 17 at the National Migration Institute (INM).
Therefore, of the 6,162 migrants who arrived in the city, only 1,733 remain, including those from El Barretal.
The coordination
The coordinator highlighted the participation of civil society from
Tijuana and the United States for the operation of El Barretal, as well
as international organizations such as UNHCR, Unicef, World Vision,
among others.
He also highlighted the surveillance of the Federal Police, Beta Group,
Navy, Municipal Police, among other security authorities to mediate
conflicts between neighbors and migrants.
Take note
• One thousand 74 migrants in the shelter of El Barretal
• 492 Central Americans installed in other shelters
• 150 in shelter 'Against Wind and Tide' of the North Zone
• 17 at the National Institute of Migration (INM)"
~~~~~~
- Even with the reduced numbers, opposition to the migrantes has swelled and they will be demonstrating today:
From Zeta:
Esperan Afluencia de Hasta 2 Mil Personas En Manifestacion Contra Caravanas Migrantes
Por, Julieta Aragon - 01/04/2019
"The
demonstration against the arrival of migrant caravans to the country,
to be held on January 6 during the visit of President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador to Tijuana, will gather between one thousand and two
thousand people, estimated Fidel Ernesto González Hernández, president
of the First Civil Association. Mexico.
He indicated that the day of protest for the "migratory disorder",
convened by this association and the social networks groups Por las
calles de Tijuana, Yellowjackets and Resist Tijuana, will begin at the
Tijuana airport, at 8:00 am.
Place where it is intended to deliver a written request to López
Obrador so that, according to Article 76 of the Constitution, he "tells"
the Senate that it does not know the Global Pact on Migration, adopted
by our country last December.
This, despite the fact that Article 49 of the Magna Carta indicates
that the Supreme Power of the Federation is divided for its exercise in
the Legislative, Executive and Judicial, and that two or more of these
Powers can not be united in a single person or corporation.
.
González Hernández, explained that those who can not go to the air terminal, will also meet at the Glorieta Cuauhtémoc.
"We hope to contact the president of the republic at the airport, if it
is not possible, at the Hotel Lucerna event," where at 2:30 p.m. the
president will start the program of the Border Economic Zone.
"We believe that there is a good disposition of the president of the
republic, but it seems to me that he has not been properly advised by
the people who touch on the specific issue," he said in an interview
with ZETA.
He added that the formal request that will be delivered also includes
reviewing and rejecting the agreement signed with the Central American
countries on December 1, considering that both international instruments
will continue to provoke "what we have experienced in 2015, with the
Haitians, and the end of the last year, with the Hondurans. What is the massive and indiscriminate entry of immigrant caravans ".
Which will polarize societies, and "can exceed socially, culturally and economically," commented the interviewee;
for what was manifested in favor of legal and orderly migration, which
includes a passport, an immigration control for reasons of national
security."
~~~~~
- Speaking of chaos, the "Contra Viento `y Marco" (aka the Bodega) shelter in Tijuana was given notice to be shut down by the authorities on 01/04/19 due to sanitary conditions. And look who was on the the scene once again :
- From Frontera:
Activistas de EU Frenan Desalujo de Migrantes
Por, Khennia Reyes - 01/05/2019
"Alleged
US activists complicated the eviction of Central American migrants from
the winery that functioned as a temporary shelter called "Contra tide,"
which is located near the Benito Juarez Sports Unit in the Northern
Zone.
The eviction was scheduled at 12:00 noon yesterday, as the Institute of
Public Health Services of Baja California closed the place, because in
addition to the problem of overcrowding and lack of ventilation, a
person with chickenpox had been detected.
Before that time, the elements of the Federal Police visited the place
to inform the migrants of the eviction, but they responded with verbal
aggressions, since they alleged that they would leave until January 24.
"Nobody is going to leave. It is an injustice. Racists. First they put us into this warehouse voluntarily and now they are running us, "they shouted.
Presence of activists
The Central Americans said they would stay in the warehouse to avoid
being next to their compatriots in El Barretal or other shelters, so
they sought 'advice' from the alleged US activists, including the BAMN
group.
Juan Carlos Morán Quintero, commissioner of the Federal Police in Baja
California, advised them not to fall for the provocations of the alleged
activists, because they were violating Mexican laws and at the same
time risking the lives of the Central Americans themselves.
For his part, Héctor Gutiérrez, who introduced himself as a
collaborator of Senator Jaime Bonilla, also accused the Americans of
using migrants to generate chaos.
"Unfortunately the caravans have been manipulated and used by groups that have other interests. We have helped them obtain their humanitarian visa, but the Americans encourage them to cross in a ball, "he said.
He recalled that the place had been borrowed for a month for the
Central Americans to undo the camp they had installed outside the Benito
Juárez Sports Unit, which caused anger among neighbors and owners of
small businesses.
Few accept to leave
Of the 120 migrants from the winery, only 16 people voluntarily left
the place to go to the Christian association Ágape AC, located in the
Loma Bonita neighborhood.
Alberto Rivera Colón, pastor and president of the association, said he
has experience in migrant care, so they will keep the behavior of
Central Americans in order through talks and collaboration for chores.
Also, they will receive legal advice to obtain their regularization in
the country or help to process their humanitarian asylum in the United
States.
Rivera Colón opined that the migrants refuse to vacate the place
because they are afraid of being deported to their countries since they
will not receive attention from the authorities.
For his part, Leonardo Neri, coordinator of El Barretal, stated that
migrants accept the transfer there will have food and safe spaces, but
they must comply with the internal regulations, such as not taking
prohibited substances."
~~~~
- BAMN is more or less the defacto parent of ANTIFA. I think most of us deplore neo-fascism and nazis, but obviously BAMN and ANTIFA aren't getting the message that inciting the migrantes is actually bolstering the Trump agenda. Of all the coverage of New Years Day's early morning rush on the Border and the release of tear gas by USBP, I only saw this coverage of ANTIFA's involvement:
Witnesses dispute US Authorities Account on New Year's Border Teat Gas Incident
By, Jean Guerrero - 01/02/2019
~~~~~
- Going to wrap this up and return later with the stats, which BTW no one really wants to talk about...have to put my foot up.
- From the New York Times:
No, Trump Cannot Declare an 'Emergency' to Build His Wall
By, Bruce Ackerman
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