TIJUANA, Mexico — U.S. border inspectors allowed some of the Central American asylum seekers to enter the country for processing, ending a brief impasse over lack of space. Now, the migrants who crossed Mexico in a caravan may face a long legal path.

  • Nearly 100 migrants from Central America, Mexico seek asylum
  • Some are trying to get out of native countries filled with gang violence
  • Vice President Mike Pence says caravan is trying to "undermine" U.S. laws

Some of the nearly 100 migrants from Central America and Mexico have been allowed to enter the U.S. as they seek asylum, but the road for them is far from over.

Men, women and children of all ages are part of this caravan that has been moving from Honduras, into El Salvador, and then Mexico.

Over the weekend, they reached the U.S. border and many are currently being blocked from entering the states.

They have arrived in Tijuana, the famous Mexican city that borders southern California, just outside of San Diego.

Border patrol agents in San Diego have let a handful of people through to process them, where they will then be held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Vice President Mike Pence spoke in front of border patrol and pledged to build the wall.

"This situation is a direct result of our weak immigration laws and our porous border. This caravan, like those who have gone before, is also rightly understood as a deliberate attempt to undermine the laws of this country and the sovereignty of the United States," said Pence.

While the roughly 100 migrants at the border say they need to be let in now before it is too late for them.

A grandmother of two, Isabel Rodriguez, says she is fleeing El Salvador because of the growing gang violence and wants to be given asylum in the U.S.

"Mr. Trump, just like you allowed our fellow brothers and sisters from Central America to live in the country, allow us the opportunity. We want to work, we don't want handouts. We want a better future for our family," pleaded Rodriguez.

American attorneys who volunteered advice in Tijuana last week warned the Central Americans that parents may be separated from their children and be detained for many months while their asylum cases are pending.

Asylum-seekers are typically held up to three days at the border and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If they pass an asylum officer’s initial screening, they may be detained or released with ankle monitors while their cases wind through immigration court, which can take years.

Nearly 80 percent of asylum-seekers passed the initial screening from October through December, but few are likely to win asylum.

The denial rate for El Salvadorans seeking asylum was 79 percent from 2012 to 2017, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Action Clearinghouse. Hondurans were close behind with a 78 percent denial rate, followed Guatemalans at 75 percent.

Trump administration officials have railed against what they call "legal loopholes" and "catch-and-release” policies that allow people seeking asylum to be freed while their cases are adjudicated. The president tweeted Monday that the caravan "shows how weak & ineffective U.S. immigration laws are."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pledged to send more immigration judges to the border if needed and threatened criminal prosecution. On Monday, the Justice Department said it filed illegal entry charges against 11 people identified as caravan members.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.