An advance wave of Central American migrants who have reached the United States southern border around two weeks ahead of the bulk of the group tried to scale a border fence near San Diego on Nov. 13, Border Patrol officials said.
The agency said that the migrants scaled the fence to “provoke the agents to arrest them, but ran back across the border.”
Video footage and pictures showed the scene next to the Pacific Ocean, where the wall separates beaches on both sides of the border, near Friendship Park.
Most of the migrants climbed to the top of the fence but didn’t cross over into the United States, reported Fox 5.
Some of the individuals were once traveling with the migrant caravan, the Border Patrol said. The main caravan is currently in Mexico and heading to California. As of Nov. 12, it was about 1,379 miles away.
About 80 migrants said they traveled with the caravan until they reached Mexico City reached Tijuana on Nov. 11, one of them told reporters at a news conference.
Preparing Border For Caravan
The advance wave of the caravan came as United States military members helped Border Patrol agents strengthen the border in preparation for the main force. The military has been helping shore up ports of entry and help plug gaps in border security, reported The Epoch Times.
More than 5,600 active-duty soldiers are deployed and 1,400 are on standby. President Donald Trump said that up to 15,000 could be deployed. He also made migrants who cross over the border outside ports of entry ineligible for asylum through a proclamation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that travelers should plan for longer than normal wait times at ports in Texas, as specially trained officers are sent to Arizona and California to help prepare for the caravan.
“The deployment of our officers to support migrant processing and border security efforts in Arizona and California will have an impact on Customs and Border Protection’s trade and travel facilitation locally,” Hector Mancha, director of the agency’s field operations in the El Paso sector, said in a statement.
“Cross-border travelers should expect lanes to be closed and anticipate processing times to increase. We suggest reducing or consolidating your cross-border trips, and if you must cross the border, build extra time into your schedule to accommodate these expected delays.”
