Faith leaders in gather at border in support of migrant caravan

Dozens of leaders from different faiths were arrested at the US border with Mexico on Monday (December 10) as they gathered there to show their support for migrants.

The gathering was organized by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization. The group said they had brought together some 200 faith and indigenous leaders who represented diverse faiths including Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.

Gathered near the border separating San Diego and Tijuana, the group said they were calling for a week of action dubbed the "Love Knows No Borders: A Moral Call for Migrant Justice" as they advocate for migrants' rights to seek refuge in the US.

Father Pat Murphy, who heads a Catholic-run shelter in Tijuana, said, they had intended to hold a prayer circle at the border before police and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials impeded the group on the US side from reaching the border fence.

Thousands of migrants from Central America have converged on the Tijuana side of the border where many are waiting to petition for asylum in the US.

US President Donald Trump has sought to make it harder to get asylum, but a federal court last month placed a temporary restraining order on his policy that only permitted asylum claims made at official ports of entry.

Based on Reuters