US arrests 32 at San Diego border demonstration
A man holds his hands in the air in front of a line of Border Patrol agents during a protest Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. officials arrested 32 people at a demonstration Monday that was organized by a Quaker group on the border with Mexico, authorities said. Demonstrators were calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants and showing support for migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A Border Patrol agent yells for protestors to back up during a protest Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. officials arrested 32 people at a demonstration Monday that was organized by a Quaker group on the border with Mexico, authorities said. Demonstrators were calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants and showing support for migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A group kneels during a protest Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. officials arrested 32 people at a demonstration Monday that was organized by a Quaker group on the border with Mexico, authorities said. Demonstrators were calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants and showing support for migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Border Patrol agents look on as a people hold hands and pray during a protest Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. officials arrested 32 people at a demonstration Monday that was organized by a Quaker group on the border with Mexico, authorities said. Demonstrators were calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants and showing support for migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
U.S. police and Border Patrol hold a line as members of an inter-faith group, showing support for Central American asylum-seekers who arrived in recent caravans and calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants, pray during a protest in San Diego, as seen from across the border wall in Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. The agents arrested dozens of protestors for trespassing as they tried to approach the border wall, and one person for assaulting an officer. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
U.S. police and Border Patrol hold a line as members of an inter-faith group, showing support for Central American asylum-seekers who arrived in recent caravans and calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants, pray during a protest in San Diego, as seen from across the border wall in Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. The agents arrested dozens of protestors for trespassing as they tried to approach the border wall, and one person for assaulting an officer. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
U.S. police and Border Patrol hold a line as members of an inter-faith group, showing support for Central American asylum-seekers who arrived in recent caravans and calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants, pray during a protest in San Diego, as seen from across the border wall in Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. The agents arrested dozens of protestors for trespassing as they tried to approach the border wall, and one person for assaulting an officer. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Women are detained during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Women are detained during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A woman is detained during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
An officer detains two women during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Women are detained during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
People hold hands in prayer during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A Border Patrol agent, below, grabs the legs of a man during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed about a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Border Patrol agents, right, detain a man during a protest near the border with Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in San Diego. U.S. Border Patrol agents have handcuffed more than a dozen people participating in a demonstration organized by a Quaker group at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for the end of the detention and deportation of immigrants and the militarization of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. authorities arrested 32 people at a demonstration Monday that was organized by a Quaker group on the border with Mexico, authorities said. Demonstrators were calling for an end to detaining and deporting immigrants and showing support for migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers.
A photographer for The Associated Press saw about a dozen people being handcuffed after they were told by agents to back away from a wall that the Border Patrol calls “an enforcement zone.” The American Friends Service Committee, which organized the demonstration, said 30 people were stopped by agents in riot gear and taken into custody while they tried to move forward to offer a ceremonial blessing near the wall.
Border Patrol spokesman Eduardo Olmos said 31 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing by the Federal Protective Service and one was arrested by the Border Patrol for assaulting an agent.
More than 300 people, many the leaders of churches, mosques, synagogues and indigenous communities, participated in the demonstration at San Diego’s Border Field State Park, which borders Tijuana, Mexico.
The rally held on a beach divided by the border wall was the second confrontation for Border Patrol agents since a caravan of more than 6,000 migrants, predominantly Hondurans, reached Tijuana last month. A confrontation with rock-throwers from Mexico led to U.S. agents firing tear gas into Mexico on Nov. 25 and a five-hour closure of the nation’s busiest border crossing.
Thousands of migrants are living in crowded tent cities in Tijuana after undertaking a grueling journey from Central America to the U.S. border. Many face waiting weeks or months in Mexico while they apply for asylum. The U.S. is processing up to about 100 claims a day at the San Diego crossing, which is creating a backlog.
The demonstration Monday was meant to launch a national week of action called “Love Knows No Borders: A moral call for migrant justice,” which falls between Human Rights Day on Monday, and International Migrants’ Day on Dec. 18, the group said.
“Showing up to welcome and bless children, mothers and fathers seeking asylum from very difficult and dehumanizing circumstances is the right and humane thing to do,” said Bishop Minerva G. Carcano, from the San Francisco Area United Methodist Church. “How we act in these moments determines who we will become as a nation.”
The group also is calling on Congress to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Comments
These protesters have it all wrong. Quakers ought know the Bible.