Thousands of Migrants Are Are Being Dropped Off on San Diego Streets
A white unmarked bus arrived in a nearby park on Monday morning and dropped off 50 newly arrived migrants who had no idea where they were or where to stay that night.
The bus wasn’t part a criminal operation. The bus was driven in part by the U.S. Government, which drops off thousands of migrants along the border communities as a new wave illegal immigration puts pressure on the Border Patrol.
Shelters in the locality are at capacity. In San Diego, for example, there are 950 beds that are usually enough for newly arrived migrants to spend a few nights. Immigration agents have been dropping off people on the street, at bus stop and train stations. This has angered local officials and worried aid groups.
San Diego officials declared on Tuesday that the situation is a humanitarian emergency after releasing an estimated 7,800 migrants in the last two weeks.
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Lindsay Toczylowski is the executive director of the Immigrant Defense Law Center. She said, “We are seeing people released into the streets sometimes with little more than their clothes on.” Her organization has set up a temporary aid center at the park for migrants, and Border Patrol agents have been dropping people off there.
First, they ask where the aid workers are located in the United States.
Biden’s administration has admitted that the current influx of migrants is straining government systems. However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that newly created legal pathways are discouraging some border crossers. Border Patrol officials said that agents coordinate releases when possible with aid groups and release migrants in transit as a final resort.
Signs in Spanish, Urdu and Mandarin are displayed at the San Diego Aid Center, a small stucco structure on the edge the park that is normally used for events.
Toczylowski stated that her organization finds beds in hotels and volunteer homes for migrants who have nowhere else to go. Other migrants are shuttled to airports for flights to destinations like Detroit and New York.
Mohamed Aweineny was one of the 29-year olds who arrived Monday. He is from Mauritania. He told us he had left the West Africa nation on Sept. 3, hoppedscotched across the globe, flew from South America to Nicaragua, and then took buses, cabs and even walked north to the U.S. Mexico border.
He climbed a 30 foot fence that separates Tijuana in Mexico from San Diego.
Aweineny, in Arabic, said: “I came to America looking for a job and good life.” He said he was headed for Alabama in the hope of reuniting a friend.
Aweineny, and other migrants who are released by Border Patrol, will be given instructions to return to the authorities or immigration court to determine their eligibility for protection or asylum. This can take many years due to backlogs.
San Diego officials claim that federal border agents released migrants on the streets during previous surges of illegal immigration. However, the current numbers are the highest in history. Asylum seekers in the U.S. are in record numbers as they flee poverty, crime and corruption in Venezuela. As many are traveling with their families, it is harder for the authorities to detain or deport them due to legal limitations on how long they can hold children.
According to the current migration flows through Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, it is expected that the number of illegal immigrants to the U.S. will increase in the coming months.
San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a letter Tuesday to federal officials requesting more assistance.
In a recent statement, Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond said that “these releases are conducted with minimal resources and little direction, leaving local communities in an untenable situation.” While we value compassion and empathy in our community, we also must acknowledge that our capacity to serve those who come to our region is limited.
Federal assistance has been requested by other communities, including those bordering Texas such as El Paso and Eagle Pass and New York.
At a transit centre in Oceanside, a city just north of San Diego.
Volunteers provide them with vouchers for hotels or transportation to the airport. Greg Anglea of Interfaith Community Services pleaded to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for more funding of such services.
He said: “We can’t wait, and we can’t let the federal funding obviate the need to address the public health and safety needs of our community members and young people being dropped off at our community.”
Desmond stated that San Diego uses money for migrants when it should be used to aid the local homeless population. If you wanted us to fund the response, which program would we take money from?
