A mother and her girls tried to reach the US border. Then they got tear-gassed. | CNN

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migrant border clashes UNFURLED
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

A mother and her girls tried to reach the US border. Then they got tear-gassed.

By Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 8:17 AM EST, Tue December 18, 2018
Link Copied!

Kim Kyung-Hoon has taken countless photos in his 13 days covering a migrant caravan in Mexico. But one image in particular stands out: The photo of a Honduran mother, Maria Lila Meza Castro, and her 5-year-old twin girls running away from tear gas.

"This has all the elements in one picture," the Reuters photojournalist told CNN. "We can see the border, the tear gas, the children using diapers, barefoot."

The family was among more than 100 migrants near the Mexico-US border in November when a few men tried to dismantle a wire fence separating the two countries, Kim said.

That's when border officials unleashed tear gas, which affected bystanders including the Honduran family that Kim photographed.

The image also captured imaginations because the mother was wearing a shirt from Disney's "Frozen" -- a movie in which a sister sets off on a brave journey for a better life.

Immediately after the tear gas was released, the woman and girls fled to a migrant camp in Tijuana, about a 30-minute walk away.

Meza Castro and her children were permitted into the US on December 17, Sandra Cordero, with the group Families Belong Together, told CNN.

Migrants run away from tear gas on Sunday, November 25. Tijuana police said they arrested 39 people in connection with the attempt to cross the Mexico-US border illegally
Migrants run away from tear gas on Sunday, November 25. Tijuana police said they arrested 39 people in connection with the attempt to cross the Mexico-US border illegally
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
A migrant girl from Honduras cries after running away from tear gas on November 25. Her mother told Reuters she was trying to bring her children to the US to reunite them with their father in Louisiana.
A migrant girl from Honduras cries after running away from tear gas on November 25. Her mother told Reuters she was trying to bring her children to the US to reunite them with their father in Louisiana.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
US soldiers and US Border Patrol agents fire tear gas toward migrants on November 25. US Customs and Border Protection said migrants threw rocks at Border Patrol agents, prompting agents to respond with tear gas because of the risk to their safety.
US soldiers and US Border Patrol agents fire tear gas toward migrants on November 25. US Customs and Border Protection said migrants threw rocks at Border Patrol agents, prompting agents to respond with tear gas because of the risk to their safety.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Reuters photojournalist Kim Kyung-Hoon said he previously spotted this Honduran family at a migrant shelter. But he wasn't able to speak with them much. The photojournalist's colleagues at Reuters later learned that the woman was trying to bring her children to the US to be reunited with their father, who lives in Louisiana.
Reuters photojournalist Kim Kyung-Hoon said he previously spotted this Honduran family at a migrant shelter. But he wasn't able to speak with them much. The photojournalist's colleagues at Reuters later learned that the woman was trying to bring her children to the US to be reunited with their father, who lives in Louisiana.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
A migrant holds US and Honduran flags in front of the border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25. Some migrants have told CNN they're fleeing violence, persecution or crushing poverty in their homelands and are<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F11%2F26%2Famericas%2Fmigrant-caravan-profiles%2Findex.html" target="_blank"> willing to work any job</a> in the US.
A migrant holds US and Honduran flags in front of the border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25. Some migrants have told CNN they're fleeing violence, persecution or crushing poverty in their homelands and are willing to work any job in the US.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Migrants make their way to cross the Tijuana River near the border wall on November 25. Many of the migrants who cross Mexico in hopes of reaching the US are<a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F06%2F20%2Famericas%2Fseparated-families-countries-snapshots%2Findex.html" target="_blank"> fleeing rampant violence or extreme poverty</a>.
Migrants make their way to cross the Tijuana River near the border wall on November 25. Many of the migrants who cross Mexico in hopes of reaching the US are fleeing rampant violence or extreme poverty.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Migrants run to cross the Tijuana River on November 25. While many migrants say they plan to seek asylum in the US, the <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F07%2F11%2Fpolitics%2Fborder-immigrants-asylum-restrictions%2Findex.html" target="_blank">rules for gaining asylum recently got much tougher</a>.
Migrants run to cross the Tijuana River on November 25. While many migrants say they plan to seek asylum in the US, the rules for gaining asylum recently got much tougher.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
The tear-gas incident on November 25 marked an escalation of tensions that have been mounting since groups of Central American migrants began arriving in Tijuana, drawing threats from US President Donald Trump to close the border.
The tear-gas incident on November 25 marked an escalation of tensions that have been mounting since groups of Central American migrants began arriving in Tijuana, drawing threats from US President Donald Trump to close the border.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
A migrant runs from tear gas on November 25. Research shows that asylum seekers from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F05%2F03%2Fworld%2Fus-asylum-denial-rates-by-nationality%2Findex.html" target="_blank">have relatively low odds of gaining asylum</a> in the US.
A migrant runs from tear gas on November 25. Research shows that asylum seekers from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have relatively low odds of gaining asylum in the US.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Migrants cross the Tijuana River to reach the border fence Sunday on November 25. On the US side, 69 people were arrested after entering illegally, US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said.
Migrants cross the Tijuana River to reach the border fence Sunday on November 25. On the US side, 69 people were arrested after entering illegally, US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

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