Yesterday, an estimated 1,000 migrants from the infamous "migrant caravan" stormed the border and threw rocks and bottles at U.S. border agents. In response, U.S. agents fired tear gas at the crowd, which gave the media the drama they've been craving, so they could write lines like this from the Associated Press: "Children screamed and coughed in the mayhem of the tear gas."
The headlines might as well have been: "Evil America Tear-Gases Babies."
Apparently, yesterday morning, a group of Central Americans who are fed up with conditions in the migrant camps in Tijuana, held a rally urging the U.S. to speed up its asylum claims process. Currently, the U.S. is processing 60 to 100 migrant asylum applications per day.
RELATED: This is not a caravan, it's an INVASION
However, as the march veered toward the border, around 1,000 decided to make a break for it. They pushed past a Mexican police blockade and tried to squeeze through wire and scale fences. As a result, the U.S. temporarily closed the border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.
A lot of the migrants' impatience stems from a pending deal between the U.S. and Mexico over how to deal with asylum seekers. In the past, asylum seekers have been allowed to remain in the U.S. while their cases are processed in U.S. courts. However, the Trump administration wants the caravan to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed. Yesterday's protesters hope to make their asylum case in person to U.S. agents before this potential deal takes effect.
That sounds heart-wrenching and all, but the fact remains that the 1,000-plus migrants who rushed the border yesterday are trying to expedite the legal process by breaking the law.
Here's the truth – America is not heartless, but it is, at least for the time being, still governed by the rule of law.
Sorry, but there's no magic wand solution for an immigration crush like this. Yes, the asylum application process is going to be slow when a mob of 6,000 people show up at the border at the same time. Most other countries would be just as slow or slower, if they considered the applications at all. Frankly, most countries would've already closed their border and turned away this caravan a long time ago.
Here's the truth – America is not heartless, but it is, at least for the time being, still governed by the rule of law. That means trying to crash through the border fence is not the way you immigrate to the U.S. (no matter how much the left would like it to be).
