MSNBC reporter Gadi Schwartz, who is on the ground in Tijuana, Mexico, said Monday that most of the caravan members he’s encountered are males — many of whom are not seeking asylum.
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle asked Schwartz to characterize the group of migrants he’s encountered, stating, “Some people look at these images and they listen to the president, who says, ‘It’s not women and children, it’s stone cold criminals.'”
“Give us the profile of who’s there mostly and what they’re looking for,” Ruhle added.
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Schwartz explained that there are a lot of families “in the inner sanctum of the shelter,” but revealed that outside of the tent city there are scores of men trying to cross the border.
“The truth is, the majority of the people that are in this caravan, especially outside — if we can make our way all the way over there, we’ll show you the majority of them are men,” Schwartz said. “From what we’ve seen, the majority are actually men and some of these men have not articulated that need for asylum.”
Schwartz said that a lot of the men in the caravan have shared economic reasons for migrating or have expressed a desire for a “better life.”
MSNBC’s Gadi Schwartz Reports From Migrant Caravan In Tijuana, Mexico (MSNBC Screenshot: November 26, 2018)
Despite Schwartz’s reporting, MSNBC anchor Katy Tur asked “how much lower” the U.S. can go and insisted border agents were throwing tear gas at primarily women and children.
“These are the images. A mom pulling her two daughters away from the tear gas,” Tur said. “The very people in charge are treating these people as an invading army, including these moms, including these kids.”
Border patrol unleashed tear gas on Sunday after hundreds of members of the caravan stormed the southern U.S. border and some threw rocks, bricks, and bottles at border agents.
Border patrol agents said in interviews that the rock-throwing migrants were using the women and children in their group as human shields to discourage border agents from responding with force. (RELATED: Border Agents: Rock-Throwing Migrants Pushed Women, Children To Front Of Horde)