Advocates Claim Trump Admin Lying About Processing Asylum Requests

Pro-Trump demonstrators protest near the US-Mexico border in Imperial Beach, San Diego County, as seen from Playas de Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on December 15, 2018. - Thousands of Central American migra... Pro-Trump demonstrators protest near the US-Mexico border in Imperial Beach, San Diego County, as seen from Playas de Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on December 15, 2018. - Thousands of Central American migrants, mostly Hondurans, have trekked in a caravan for over a month in the hopes of reaching the United States. (Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP) (Photo credit should read GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Customs and Border Protection sent out a tweet Monday night claiming the processing systems for migrants claiming asylum had reached its “capacity” at legal ports of entry given the “influx” of Central American families, but according to advocates who spoke to NBC News, that’s not true.

Immigration lawyers stationed at the border in Otay Mesa, California claim that it’s not at capacity because they witnessed Border Patrol finding space for unaccompanied minors and the family of Maria Meza, whose photo went viral after she was tear gassed at the border last month.

“When they say they’re at capacity at any given day it’s unclear what they mean. They sent 5,000 troops to the border, a huge influx of resources, but the most vulnerable people arriving at our border — asylum seekers — are the ones they don’t have any capacity to process? It doesn’t make sense,” executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center told NBC News.

The Trump administration in recent months has made efforts to clamp down on who can claim asylum and when they can claim it.

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