More Caravan Migrants Attempt Illegal Border Crossings

SAN YSIDRO, CA -- Some of the Central American asylum-seekers traveling with a migrant caravan have attempted to illegally enter the United States near San Ysidro in the last 24 hours, federal authorities said Saturday.

The migrants tried Friday and Saturday to climb over the border fence on either side of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection Chief Patrol Agent Rodney S. Scott said. Young children -- and in one case, a pregnant woman -- were detected among people trying to enter the U.S. through "a dark, treacherous canyon that is notorious for human and drug smuggling," he said.

No estimate was given for how many people from the caravan attempted to cross the border illegally this time, but about 350 people planned to try to enter the country at the San Ysidro Port of Entry Sunday, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The caravan has been making national headlines for the past month after catching the attention of President Donald Trump. It first began with about 1,000 people March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the Guatemala border, drawing comments from Trump as evidence of what he and his aides portrayed as a significant threat, the Post reported.

Scott said it was "unconscionable" that children were being smuggled into the country in what he referred to as dangerous conditions.

In the statement, he warned the remaining caravan members to follow the law.

"If anyone has encouraged you to illegally enter the United States, or make any false statements to U.S. government officials, they are giving you bad advice and they are placing you and your family at risk," he said. "We are a very welcoming country but just like your own house, we expect everyone to enter through our front door and answer questions honestly. On a national level that front door is the Ports of Entry. If you enter the United States at any place other than a Port of Entry it is a crime."

--City News Service/Photo via Shutterstock