A migrant from Honduras pass a child to her father after he jumped the border fence to get into the U.S. side to San Diego, Calif., from Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. Discouraged by the long wait to apply for asylum through official ports of entry, many migrants from recent caravans are choosing to cross the U.S. border wall and hand themselves in to border patrol agents. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
SAN DIEGO – In Washington, it's all about the wall. At the border, it's about a lot more.
The partial government shutdown over $5 billion in funding President Donald Trump wants for a wall separating the U.S. from Mexico has lasted 14 days with no sign of compromise. A new Congress has taken over, and newly installed Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called the wall an "immorality."
But the Washington debate is overlooking major bottlenecks in the immigration system. More families and children traveling alone are turning themselves in to authorities to seek asylum.
Trump has suggested people won't bother to come if he gets his way, making other immigration issues less problematic. Fencing currently blankets about one-third of the border and the president wants to extend and fortify them.
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