Migrant caravan arrives at border

A mother and her child who are traveling with a caravan of Central American migrants wait in line for a free meal after arriving to the Juventudes 2000 shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The caravan of mainly Central American migrants are planning to request asylum, either in the United States or Mexico. (AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musielik)
A mother and her child who are traveling with a caravan of Central American migrants wait in line for a free meal after arriving to the Juventudes 2000 shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The caravan of mainly Central American migrants are planning to request asylum, either in the United States or Mexico. (AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musielik)

TIJUANA, Mexico -- About 170 people in a caravan of Central Americans traveled in tourist buses Thursday for the final leg of their monthlong journey to seek asylum in the United States, despite warnings from President Donald Trump's administration that they could be prosecuted, detained and quickly deported.

Men, women and children traveled under Mexican federal police escort on a curvy, mountainous road from the Mexican border city of Mexicali to Tijuana to join up with about 175 others already there.

Lawyers planned free workshops on the U.S. immigration system for today and Saturday as many planned to seek asylum starting Sunday at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing, the nation's busiest.

Migrant shelters in Tijuana's Zona Norte neighborhood were full. That forced organizers to look elsewhere for temporary housing, said Leonard Olsen of Pueblos Sin Fronteras, a group leading the effort.

Migrants who stayed overnight at a shelter in Mexicali were tired from the long journey and nervous about the possibility of being detained in the U.S. but also knowledgeable about their rights to seek protection from persecution in their home countries, Olsen said. Many Central American asylum seekers say they face death threats by criminal gangs in their homelands.

Caravans have been a fairly common tactic for advocacy groups to draw attention to asylum seekers, but the latest group gained visibility after Trump unleashed strong criticism from the moment it began March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the Guatemala border.

Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said late Wednesday that any person trying to cross into the U.S. who makes false claims to immigration authorities will subject to criminal prosecution.

A Section on 04/27/2018

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