Julian Castro Leads Migrants Into US, Stunt Backfires When CBP Sends Them Packing
Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro tried leading migrants across America’s southern border this week, only to have his stunt backfire when Customs and Border Protection agents sent them back to Mexico.
The Obama-era secretary of housing and urban development led the migrants across a bridge and into Texas on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The group of twelve migrants appeared to have been hand-picked for their apparent victimhood statuses, consisting of eight gay and lesbian people, as well as a disabled woman and her family.
Those chosen by Castro to cross with him had previously met with customs agents and were instructed to wait in Mexico, the Times reported.
One of the LGBT migrants who followed Castro claimed to have been the target of harassment in Mexico over her sexual orientation, a status that the presidential candidate claims makes her exempt from President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
The stunt provided some much-needed publicity for Castro, who has found himself near the bottom of the crowded field of 2020 Democratic candidates.
According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, he has just 1 percent support nationwide.
Unfortunately for Castro, his march into the United States didn’t end in a groundbreaking victory for seemingly disenfranchised LGBT migrants, but rather with a humiliating defeat by the rule of law.
The Texas Civil Rights Project, a group of lawyers who represented the migrants led by Castro, announced that all 12 of them had been sent back to Mexico by CBP agents in Brownsville.
BREAKING: We just heard the terrible news that all 12 of our clients escorted by @JulianCastro were sent back to Mexico. This is of course a mockery of due process. Here is our statement on the matter:#LetThemIn
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) October 7, 2019
The decision came after the group reportedly spent three hours in CBP custody.
Although the situation is being painted by Castro and his supporters as a perversion of justice, this decision shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
Each migrant who accompanied Castro was told to await a court date. They attempted to enter America before their scheduled appearances regardless.
Officials along the border and those processing asylum claims have been swamped with asylum claims after Trump tightened up border security, thus drastically reducing illegal crossings.
Now being forced to go through official, legal channels, migrants are not happy with a process that is notably longer than the short walk across the border many could take under the administration of former President Barack Obama.
As for the migrants who tried to cross over before their court appointments, they’ll likely have to either wait their turn or simply give up and return home.
Castro may have thought this was going to be a major win for him, but it’s looking like he’s only wasted the time of both the migrants and U.S. officials.
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