President Trump on Monday threatened to permanently close the southern border with Mexico if migrants are not sent back to their home countries.
“We will close the Border permanently if need be,” said Trump in tweet shortly after 6 a.m. Eastern time. He also called on Congress to fund his promised border wall.
Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2018
The President’s comments came after a group of migrants rushed the San Ysidro crossing, forcing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to close the border for more than five hours on Sunday. Border Patrol agents used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Rodney Scott, chief patrol agent for the San Diego sector, told CNN on Monday that 42 people were arrested during the melee.
News coverage from Tijuana showed women and children running from the tear gas, but Scott said the the group wasn’t peaceful.
“What I saw on the border yesterday was not people walking up to border patrol agents and asking to claim asylum,” he said. “The group immediately started throwing rocks and debris at our agents, taunting our agents.”
The San Ysidro crossing — the world’s busiest — was operating normally on Monday morning. While it was closed on Sunday, crossings at Otay Mesa and Tecate remained open.
