Hundreds of migrants request asylum with Border Patrol near Ascarate

U.S. Border Patrol agents took more than 400 migrants into custody Monday morning after the migrants turned themselves in at the border fence, just south of Ascarate Park.

The migrants were walking on the U.S. side of the border near the border fence that runs along the Cesar E. Chavez Border Highway. They weren’t all traveling together and were taken into custody in groups throughout the day, the Border Patrol said.

Earlier Monday, the Border Patrol reported about 200 migrants had turned themselves in. Later Monday, that figure increased to more than 400.

Authorities also said the migrants had not crossed over the border fence, and instead turned themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed at an opening along the fence. That opening is located near Midway Dr. in El Paso’s lower valley.

ABC-7 spoke with Mary Juarez, who lives in the neighborhood off the Border Highway near the border fence. Juarez said she is not bothered much by the migrants trying to enter the US, but “we do have to take precautions and lock up our doors now and be very watchful with our children.” Juarez said she understands why the migrants are coming to the US. “They see what we have here, so they’re trying to do the same thing and I understand where they’re coming from, but they need to do it the right way,” she said.

Joe Romero, a spokesman with the U.S. Border Patrol, told ABC-7 the migrants are part of a caravan of people who are requesting asylum in the U.S. Several children were part of the groups taken into custody Monday. Romero said a lot of the people who were traveling together were family units.

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation last month that barred anyone who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border between official ports of entry from seeking asylum, but a federal judge on Friday upheld his ruling, blocking that ban.

The judge sided with legal groups who argued that federal law is clear that immigrants in the U.S. can request asylum regardless of whether they entered legally. The Trump Administration is appealing the judge’s ruling.