The mayor of Tijuana declared an international humanitarian crisis on Thursday over the arrival of more than 5,000 mostly Central American migrants traveling in a caravan.

The migrants have streamed into the border city in the past week to seek asylum in the United States.

During a press conference Thursday, Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum asked international groups like the United Nations to step in help the city deal with the influx of migrants, amid a lagging response from the Mexican federal government, which he accused of neglecting their responsibilities to deal with migrant and immigration issues.

"They have categorically omitted and not complied with their legal obligations," he said. "So we're now asking them and international humanitarian aid groups to bring in and carry out humanitarian assistance."





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