Trump asks asylum seekers not to enter US while waiting for results

Migrant caravan from Baja California arrives in Tijuana, Mexico on November 20. Photo: AFP

"Migrants at the southern border will not be allowed into the United States until their asylum claims are approved in court," US President Trump wrote on Twitter on November 24.

He added that the US “will accept those who come into the country legally” and stressed that in the meantime, “everyone will remain in Mexico.” This is a change from traditional US border policy, which allows asylum seekers to remain on US soil.

However, Olga Sanchez Cordero, who will take office next month as interior minister in the administration of new Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said "there is no agreement between the Mexican government and the United States." However, she did not rule out the possibility that Mexico would hold these people while Washington processed their asylum applications, according toAFP.

After departing from Honduras on October 12, the caravan of thousands of migrants, including women and children, traveled through Guatemala and Mexico with the goal of reaching the United States in search of better work opportunities and living conditions. They are living in temporary shelters in the city of Tijuana near the Mexican border with the United States.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the caravan. He has sent nearly 6,000 troops to the Mexican border to support the National Guard there to stop what he calls an "invasion" by "very bad people." Trump has also authorized the military to use lethal force against these people and warned that the US could close the entire border.