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UN Reaffirms Refugees' Right to Seek Asylum in US 


Honduran migrant Genesis Belen Mejia Flores, 7, waves an American flag at U.S. border control helicopters flying overhead near the Benito Juarez Sports Center serving as a temporary shelter for Central American migrants, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 24, 2018.
Honduran migrant Genesis Belen Mejia Flores, 7, waves an American flag at U.S. border control helicopters flying overhead near the Benito Juarez Sports Center serving as a temporary shelter for Central American migrants, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 24, 2018.

Asylum seekers at the Mexican border fleeing violence or persecution are entitled to lodge claims in the United States to obtain sanctuary there, U.N.
agencies said in a fresh attempt to shield migrants from tough U.S. immigration policies.

U.N. officials have repeatedly urged Washington to ensure asylum seekers are protected, but U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Mexico should send migrants seeking asylum in the United States back to their home countries.

U.S. authorities fired tear gas canisters toward migrants in Mexico — near the border crossing separating Tijuana from San Diego, Calif. — on Sunday when some rushed through border fencing into the United States. Mexico's foreign ministry presented a diplomatic note to the U.S. government on Monday calling for a "full investigation."

After Trump signed an order limiting asylum rights earlier this month, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the United States must make sure anyone fleeing violence or persecution can get protection "without obstruction."

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch, asked on Tuesday about U.S. forces firing tear gas at migrants, told a Geneva news briefing: "We are following those reports with concern. We are still trying to understand what transpired there."

Men line up for dinner outside a shelter housing members of the migrant caravan, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 26, 2018.
Men line up for dinner outside a shelter housing members of the migrant caravan, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 26, 2018.

Border management is "a sovereign prerogative of national governments," but border security and international protection for refugees are not mutually exclusive, he said.

"It means that any person whose life is at risk in their country of origin must be able to access territory and request asylum in a safe country. And each asylum request should be considered individually.

"We have been repeating our call on the U.S. authorities to grant access to the territory and to asylum procedure to those who are fleeing persecution and violence," he said.

Sunday's incident was the latest chapter in a saga that has pitted Trump's hard-line immigration policies against thousands of migrants who have made their way north through Mexico from violent and impoverished Central American countries.

About 3,500 migrants from the caravans have applied for asylum in Mexico, Baloch said. Seven migrants have died in incidents along the way, Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration said.

"We believe governments have the right to defend their borders and should do so responsibly," he said. "We also think migrants certainly should have the expectation that there be an access that is legal and safe for them to at least seek to cross
a border."

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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