Central Americans will seek asylum at southern U.S. border

Members of a migrant caravan from Central America stand as evangelical faithful pray in preparation for an asylum request in the U.S., in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico.

U.S. immigration lawyers are telling Central Americans in a caravan of asylum-seekers that travelled through Mexico to the border with San Diego that they face possible separation from their children and detention for many months. They say they want to prepare them for the worst.

The Central Americans will test the Trump administration’s tough rhetoric criticising the caravan when they begin seeking asylum on Sunday at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, the nation’s busiest.

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet have been tracking the caravan, calling it a threat to the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the San Ysidro crossing may be unable to take asylum-seekers if it faces too many at once, forcing people to wait in Mexico until it has more room.