Will allow migrants only if court clears: Donald Trump

Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has said migrants at the southern border will not be allowed into America until a court approves their claims individually.

Mr. Trump’s comments came in the wake of a caravan of people — mostly from three Latin American countries El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — inching closer to the U.S.-Mexico border with the intention of illegally entering America, a trend that has been going on for the past several decades.

In the past two weeks, approximately 5,000 Central American migrants have arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, just south of California.

“Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Saturday.

He said illegal immigrants would be caught and detained and not released inside the country, as was the practice earlier.

He said all these years illegal immigrants have been taking advantage of the earlier U.S.’ policy of ‘catch and release’, under which they were released inside the country and asked to come back to report to a court at the next hearing on their asylum application.

“If for any reason it becomes necessary, we will CLOSE our Southern Border. There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore!” he asserted.

Meanwhile, the U.S. media on Saturday reported that the Trump administration had reached an understanding with the leaders of the incoming Mexican government that would allow migrants applying for asylum in the U.S. to remain in Mexico while they await a court’s decision.