President Donald Trump protested the use of old media footage showing members of a Central American migrant caravan climbing over the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, in a Monday afternoon tweet.
The Fake News is showing old footage of people climbing over our Ocean Area Fence. This is what it really looks like – no climbers anymore under our Administration! pic.twitter.com/CD4ltRePML
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
The president appeared to be referencing footage originally shot by a Fox affiliate in San Diego, which showed migrants streaming over the border fence. Trump tweeted a photo showing construction along the formerly unfortified fence, now apparently equipped with heavy amounts of barbed wire.
Video shows group climbing border fence https://t.co/uKdbhWOhXf
— John Rager (@roth2112) November 16, 2018
Trump’s tweet comes as the Department of Homeland Security noted that it had to temporarily close the busiest port of entry between the U.S. and Mexico Tuesday evening in order to reinforce barriers and harden the ports of entry.
DHS Secretary Nielsen noted in an announcement on Twitter that the hardening was in direct response to threats from members of the migrant caravan who reportedly wanted to storm the port of entry en masse in order to overwhelm U.S. authorities and illegally seek refuge.
This AM, all of #SanYsidro Port of Entry’s northbound lanes were temporarily closed to initiate additional port hardening efforts after @CBP officials were notified that a large # of caravan migrants were planning to rush the border in an attempt to gain illegal access to the US.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) November 19, 2018
.@CBP and @DeptofDefense appropriately responded by blocking the lanes, deploying additional personnel and seeking assistance from other law enforcement and federal assets. #CBP has reopened lanes for legitimate trade and travel. I want to thank them for their swift actions. pic.twitter.com/eJVVuAs0w6
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) November 19, 2018
Trump has dispatched nearly 15,000 U.S. troops to the southern border in order to strengthen U.S. ports of entry. The president’s troop deployment comes in tandem with a recent presidential proclamation that will force migrants seeking asylum to enter the U.S. legally.
Asylum seekers previously were able to claim a “credible fear” of return to their home country even if they crossed into the U.S. via an illegal method. The utterance of “credible fear” and other “magic words” by migrants triggers protocols of U.S. asylum law that require adjudication before a court. The years-long process of adjudication poses a further problem for authorities when it comes to detention of these migrants, particularly those who arrive as part of a family unit.