What will happen to caravan members who cross illegally into the U.S.?

SAN DIEGO — As the sun set Tuesday over Playas de Tijuana, four members of the migrant caravan that has been camped in the city for weeks climbed over a low spot in the new border barrier and were immediately caught by Border Patrol agents.

In the past several days, multiple media outlets have observed small groups of caravan members who have grown desperate in the conditions of temporary shelters in Tijuana and decided to try their luck climbing the border barrier, or in at least one instance swimming around the fence that extends into the ocean at Friendship Park.

Asylum seekers who cross the border illegally often look for immigration officials to turn themselves in and ask for protection, known to agents as “self-surrenders.”

Tuesday’s climbers chose a point in the recently replaced primary fence where the structure changes direction slightly and a shorter metal plate fills in the gap between taller bollard-style fencing. Migrants hung a white bed sheet on top of the metal plate to use to pull themselves over. It still hung on the barrier as dusk closed in on the area.

Border Patrol vehicles drove up and down, monitoring where the migrants had crossed. Mexican immigration officials also stood nearby. They said they planned to try to deter more migrants from crossing the border there.

A short while later, a group of eight, including one woman and a young girl, emerged in the darkness to follow the other group over. The girl was small enough to be able to squeeze in between the posts, and a man climbed up to help the adults over.

When agents responded, the group quickly crossed back and disappeared toward Tijuana. The mother and daughter had planned to ask for asylum, but none of the men wanted to get caught.

While some are determined to wait out the ballooning asylum line at the San Ysidro port of entry, other members of the caravan see crossing illegally as a way to set foot on U.S. soil more quickly.

Juana Matutet, a 42-year-old woman from Honduras, said a smuggler came to the sports complex that through most of last week housed the caravan to offer to help people across to turn themselves in to U.S. officials for $150.

Noel Miguel Ramos, a 29-year-old man from El Salvador who joined the caravan in Mexico, said he planned to wait for heavy fog to roll in before trying to cross by himself. He’s been studying Google Maps to plan his route.

“I don’t have anything to lose,” Ramos said. “Trump said he won’t let us in.”

Many of those who have crossed in recent days were subsequently apprehended by Border Patrol. However, it does not appear that many, if any, have been prosecuted criminally on illegal entry charges in federal court.

Even a man with a murder conviction in Honduras spotlighted by the Department of Homeland Security as evidence of “known criminals” in the caravan after he was caught by Border Patrol agents in late November has not been charged.

The U.S. Attorney’s office referred the Union-Tribune to Customs and Border Protection when asked about the lack of criminal charges. CBP declined to say why some cases are forwarded for criminal prosecution and others aren’t, including those who are part of the caravan.

The agency also would not say how many caravan members have been apprehended after crossing illegally nor how many have been referred for criminal prosecution.

The Trump administration began its “zero tolerance” policy shortly before the last migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana, pledging to charge everyone who crossed the border illegally. Though a class-action lawsuit over the separation of families led to fewer parents being prosecuted, zero tolerance has steadily charged adults caught crossing illegally.

The policy flooded border courts with cases, and judges in the Southern District of California implemented a program, known informally as “Streamline,” used elsewhere along the border to speedily negotiate guilty pleas from border crossers.

Illegal entry is a federal misdemeanor, and those who plead guilty under Streamline are generally sentenced to time served and then handed back to immigration officials for deportation or asylum processing, depending on the individual case. Illegal reentry is a felony and can come with months or even years in federal prison.

Federal Defenders of San Diego, which provides legal defense to those who can’t afford private attorneys, has been told in recent weeks to prepare to represent a large influx of caravan members, said supervisory attorney Kasha Castillo.

Defense attorneys say many of their clients in unrelated felony cases have been moved from federal custody in downtown San Diego to detention facilities around Southern California in the past week or so, possibly to clear bed space in San Diego in anticipation of caravan defendants.