Mexico vows to deport US border-rushers

Mexico's Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete said on Monday that migrants who attempted to cross into the US in a "violent way" would be deported. "Far from helping the caravan, they are hurting it," he said in an interview with broadcaster Milenio.

Mexico City has promised to ramp up security at the border.

Around 1,000 Central American migrants held an initially peaceful rally in Tijuana, on the border with the US, on Sunday. But after a few hours, about half the group suddenly ran towards the San Ysidro port of entry.

Although Mexican police were stationed nearby, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the unexpected rush. US border police then fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd of men, women and children.

Most of the 5,000 refugees living in the Tijuana camp hail from Honduras, where rampant gang violence had led to one of the world's highest murder rates.

US authorities said on Monday that 42 people had been arrested for illegal crossing on the US side of the border. Honduras has condemned the incident and called on the United Nations to address its request for assistance for the stranded migrants.

The refugees are legally allowed to apply for asylum in the US, but this process has been known to take as long as a year.

Some 9,000 US troops have been deployed to the border region despite the strong presence of US Customs and Border Protection agents in the area as part of President Donald Trump's border control regime.

es/msh (AP, AFP)