TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Several hundred Central American migrants have marched toward the international border crossing between Tijuana and California to pressure the U.S to hear their asylum claims.

The migrants carried hand-painted American and Honduran flags and chanted: "We are not criminals! We are international workers!"

A few dozen Mexican police with plastic riot shields stopped the migrants well ahead of the crossing on Sunday.

More than 5,000 migrants are camped in and around a sports complex in Tijuana after making their way through Mexico in recent weeks via caravan.

Many hope to apply for asylum in the U.S., but agents at the San Ysidro entry point are processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day.