Massive buildup of migrants at Mexican border sparks humanitarian crisis

The migrant caravan is starting to collect at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, and local aide groups are struggling to keep up.

Hundreds of Central American migrants seeking entry in the U.S. continued to gather Friday at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing near San Diego, with a small group settling within 500 feet of the border, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. That puts the total number of migrants in the city at 6,219, prompting Tijuana's mayor to declare a humanitarian crisis on Thursday.

Most of the migrants fled their home country of Honduras to escape devastating poverty and violence, hoping to claim asylum in America. But they've faced similar conditions as they settle in Tijuana and wait to cross the border, camping out "in muddy and cramped conditions at an open-air sports arena turned into a makeshift shelter," the Union-Tribune writes.

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Tijuana's mayor had begged Mexico's federal government for resources to feed and shelter the migrants, but said Thursday the government has "categorically omitted and not complied with their legal obligations," per USA Today. The mayor has refused to spend city money to shelter the migrants, and is instead asking international humanitarian groups to step in.

President Trump responded to the swelling throngs on Thursday, telling reporters he had authorized troops deployed to the border to use lethal force, per Reuters. He also repeated a warning that he could close the border entirely, which would likely just prompt an even larger buildup in Tijuana.