Families of people killed by illegal immigrants visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 14 to call for stronger border security.
The Angel Families organization held a rally giving parents whose children were murdered a chance to speak in support of building the border wall, KUSI reported.
“We are fighting so that no other American family has to feel the pain and the grief that we do,” said Mary Anne Mendoza, whose son was killed by an illegal alien in 2014.
The families and activists gathered near the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which offers a crossing point between San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico.
Agnes Gibboney immigrated to the United States legally, from Brazil, by way of Hungary. In 2002 her son was shot and killed by an illegal alien gang member who entered the Unites States illegally after previously being deported. She had a message for those in the migrant caravan, waiting in Mexico, seeking to cross the border illegally.
“Go back home, and if you’re really serious about coming to this country, start by respecting our laws,” Gibboney told KUSI News.
She also gave general advice for anybody seeking to immigrate to the United States legally.
“I think anybody that wants to come here: apply, follow the law, go through the background investigation, full medical, and then you come in.”
Speakers at the rally expressed their disappointment in Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. A conference that was partially televised showed the two Democrat leaders meeting with President Trump and Vice President Pence in the Oval Office on Dec. 11. The two Democrat leaders argued against building a border wall while President Trump said the wall was crucial to the country’s border security.
“We’re calling on all Americans to support President Trump who’s fighting hard to keep his campaign promise to build the wall,” Gibboney said at the rally, via KUSI. “We need to build the wall so we can prevent the needless loss of life at the hands of illegal aliens.”
Trouble in Tijuana
The United States government temporarily closed the entry port for a few hours at the end of November, after Central Americans traveling via the migrant caravan tried to rush the border and enter the United States illegally. San Ysidro is one of the world’s busiest border crossings, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“This makes the president’s point: That these are people who are willing to not just defy immigration law in an abstract sense — crossing a border where nobody is looking — but actually rush the border in the full light of day,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, via the LA Times.
Mexican authorities are struggling to shelter the newly arrived population of Central Americans who came via the migrant caravan in hopes of crossing into the United States. Some of the migrants are living on the streets because of conditions in overcrowded shelters. Some are choosing to live on the streets because they want to be as close to the border as possible, according to UNICEF USA, via a Newsweek interview.
