US military uses tear gas in clashes on border with Mexico

There have been some clashes at the US-Mexico border between the military and Central American migrants after US President Donald Trump said earlier that asylum seekers would not have easy access to the United States.

The group of migrants, some carrying Honduran flags, reportedly rushed toward the border fence, where US officials were gathered on the other side. US Customs and Border Protection agents held back the migrants with a series of canisters that released large clouds of tear gas, while US and Mexican government helicopters flew overhead.

Protesters were arrested by both Mexican and US authorities. Reuters quoted witnesses as saying that mostly women collapsed and children cried out because of tear gas. "They want us to wait in Mexico but I am desperate. My little girl is sick and I don't even have money to buy milk for her," said Joseph Garcia, 32, from Honduras.

Many women and children from the migrant caravan were miserable in the riots. Photo: twitter

Traffic in both directions at the San Ysidro port between San Diego and Tijuana has been halted, disrupting trade in the Western Hemisphere’s busiest trade route, according to US officials. A heavily guarded pedestrian and vehicular intersection in Mexico has now reopened after being closed for hours.

The Mexican government said it had regained control of the border after nearly 500 migrants attempted to cross the US border “violently” and vowed to immediately deport those trying to enter the US illegally, following a meeting between Washington and Mexico on November 25.

Tensions along the US-Mexico border have been rising in recent days, with thousands of Central American migrants from a caravan camping out at a sports stadium in Tijuana. Mexican police on November 25 officially abandoned the protest marches, setting off a stampede toward the US border.