Migrants remain at risk of being left at bus stops
Border Patrol dropped hundreds of asylum seekers at depots over holidays as San Diego shelters overflowed.
SAN DIEGO — The mass flight cancellations that have disrupted travel plans for many around the United States are continuing to complicate the situation in San Diego for arriving asylum seekers and the people who work to support them.
Last weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents left hundreds of migrants at bus stops around San Diego County without any support to reach their intended destinations around the country.
Normally, migrants stay for a few days at one of the local shelters before traveling on to reunite with loved ones throughout the United States. But with winter weather and holiday travel — and the collapse of Southwest Airlines’ flight schedule, which began Dec. 22 and lasted over a week — the shelters haven’t been able to help migrants move onward as quickly as usual, meaning there is less capacity for new arrivals.
When the shelters run out of space, they triage based on migrants’ vulnerability, making it a priority to serve families with children, among others.
Over a week ago, the Border Patrol began dropping off the remaining people at area bus stations.
An unnamed spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency “works diligently to ensure that releases are conducted in a safe manner and that all noncitizens released from custody are provided essential support upon release and may access transportation to continue to their destinations,” adding that “all individuals released [by the agency] to continue their immigration process are screened for national security and public safety concerns.”
It is unclear exactly how many people have been left at bus stations since the drop-offs began on Dec. 23. When asked for the count, local officials with Customs and Border Protection deferred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to the
question.
San Diego County estimated last week that roughly 880 people had been left at bus stations by the Border Patrol as of last Monday, but said it was hard to really know.
“We are lobbying the federal government to direct
more resources to our partners; and we are evaluating areas where we could assist if necessary,” said Michael Workman, spokesperson for the county.
The San Diego UnionTribune could not confirm whether anyone had been dropped off on Tuesday or
Wednesday, but the San Diego Rapid Response Network Migrant Shelter said Tuesday that it was receiving up to 300 asylum seekers daily.
Kate Clark, an attorney with Jewish Family Service of San Diego who helps manage the network’s shelter, said Wednesday that the shelter did not anticipate having to turn away more asylum seekers, but that it was still monitoring the situation closely.
“At this moment we are grateful to have regained some capacity,” Clark said. “We know the ongoing national travel challenges persist and will be continually assessing capacity to welcome guests into our care” after their release by Homeland Security.
The shelter’s steering committee urged all levels of government to do more to create infrastructure to receive new arrivals.
“We call on the federal government to prioritize rebuilding our country’s broken asylum and immigration systems, including improved processes for migrant shelter services across the border region,” the committee said last week. “All levels of government must work together to welcome and meet the needs of all asylum seekers arriving in San Diego.”
The strain on services can leave migrants, including those dropped at bus stations, without a place to sleep or money to buy food.
Some have struggled to find working phones to get in touch with loved ones and make travel plans. Others have managed to get to the airport, only to find there were no flights available.
And some were left at bus stations without family members who had crossed the border with them.
One man from Ecuador was dropped at a bus station while his pregnant wife ended up at a shelter in Riverside County after being processed by the Border Patrol. The shelter network helped reunite the couple on Christmas Eve.
A Peruvian man who was dropped off at a bus station in Oceanside told the UnionTribune
that he and his mother had been separated after crossing the border together, and he was unable to reach her. He was worried because she has medical issues, he said, and her phone was turned off.
Finally, he heard from her — she’d been sent to a longterm immigration detention center in Eloy, Ariz.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to questions about why the woman was detained.
It is not clear how many more families might be in similar situations.