MEXICO CITY: Dozens of migrants travelling together in a caravan have been prevented from entering the US.
US border officials told some 150 people, many travelling with children, that the Mexico-US border crossing near San Diego was already full.
It was not immediately known whether the migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador would be allowed in later or turned back.
President Donald Trump says the caravan is a threat to the safety of the US. The group has been a frequent target for the US president, who has argued in his tweets that it showed the need to tighten immigration laws.
He has asked states bordering Mexico to send troops to shore up security until his proposed border wall is built.
An organiser told the BBC that no-one in the group had been processed by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) at the San Ysidro crossing.
Alex Mensing said about 50 people were still queuing to get into the port of entry while around 100 more were waiting on the Mexican side of the frontier.
In a statement, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that “we have reached capacity at the San Ysidro port of entry”. “Those individuals may need to wait in Mexico as CBP officers work to process those already within our facilities.” A lawyer for the group was aghast that inspectors at the border were not ready for them.
“We can build a base in Iraq in under a week. We can’t process 200 refugees. I don’t believe it,” Nicole Ramos told the Associated Press news agency.
