San Diego County, California – A surge in border crossings is putting a strain on communities in Southern California, where large groups of migrants are frequently seen at transit hubs after immigration officials resumed street releases, local politicians say. .
“There’s no end in sight,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Fox News. “This is the new norm, and I think it’s going to sound some rude alarm bells at some point.”
About 30 immigrants line up in an empty parking lot near Jacumba Hot Springs, California, on March 27, 2024. In recent years, Border Patrol has encountered record numbers of illegal immigrants in the San Diego area, straining both federal and local resources. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Immigrants’ first days in Southern California often follow a similar schedule.
They cross, pass around, or pass through the border fence before surrendering to Border Patrol agents. Maybe it happens quickly, maybe they have to wait on the side of the road for several hours before being caught, or maybe they make a dangerous trek through mountains that Customs and Border Protection warns about. It is dry in summer.
They are searched, processed at a CBP facility between truck repair shops and auto auction operations, and released. Desmond said most, but not all, were dropped off at local transit stations, and many residents left San Diego County before registering to arrive.
“A lot of them are going to the East Coast,” Desmond said of the people he spoke to at the border. “That’s why a lot of people are leaving. But there’s also a lot we don’t know.”
San Diego has seen an increase in border crossings for years.
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Located about 15 minutes from downtown San Diego, El Cajon is one of the few drop-off points for immigrants. Mayor Bill Wells said the border has “always been an issue” but the federal government has always worked to stop “bad actors” such as cartels and gang members from entering the country.
“The door is wide open now,” Wells told Fox News. “We’re not even trying anymore.”
The San Diego area saw an 85% increase in encounters in February compared to the same month last year, according to CBP data. Local agents experienced more than 230,000 encounters in fiscal year 2023, and that record is on track to be broken in 2024.
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The Biden administration has promised that “the border is not open,” but those on the front lines are painting a contradictory picture. Border Patrol agents are overwhelmed by “give-ups,” or people who walk across the border and apply for asylum in order to be detained, processed, and then released into the United States.
“I don’t blame the Border Patrol agents,” Desmond said. “Their hands are tied.”
Both Mr. Wells and Mr. Desmond have documented congestion at local transit stations. Desmond said CBP typically releases 600 to 900 people a day in locations that lack restrooms and other facilities. Sometimes taxi drivers from nonprofit organizations or “entrepreneurs” are waiting there, he said.
The gates are now wide open. …I’m not even trying anymore.
“Unfortunately, the San Diego airport is now a de facto migrant shelter, where they are sleeping,” he added, adding that about 90% of migrants are traveling to other cities across the country, including Chicago and New York. It is estimated that they continue to move to. “I hope that many of them will leave. But the truth is, we have no idea whether they will leave or not.”
Until late February, the migrants were likely taken to a processing center in San Diego that had been turned into an empty elementary school. But the $6 million in county funding that was supposed to sustain the center from October to March ran out early after processing 81,000 migrants, officials said. local news coverage.
The Board of Supervisors approved a plan to raise federal funds and philanthropic donations to fund replacement centers to stem the tide of street dumping. Desmond was the lone “no” vote, arguing that long-term shelters would only add to the federal government’s chaos.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond (left) and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells are unhappy with the federal government’s border controls. They said hundreds of migrants are dropped off in the region every day, many heading to other cities and states, while those who remain put a strain on local resources. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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“What we are allowing is a very degrading and inhumane process where people have to climb over a 30-foot-high fence… [or] “We must enforce the law and provide a lawful and dignified immigration process,” he said.
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Americans increasingly rank immigration as the most important issue facing America. In a survey conducted earlier this year by the Institute for Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, nearly two-thirds of California likely voters said the border was not secure enough.
Californians interviewed by Fox News primarily said border security was an important voting priority for them and that they supported immigration as long as it was done legally.
“If you have a fence around your house and you lock your door at night, you don’t need to explain the value of having a perimeter fence. It’s not rocket science,” Mark Good said.
In California, 65% of likely voters surveyed earlier this year said the border is not secure enough to deter illegal immigration. (Ramiro Vargas/Fox News Digital)
Good’s son-in-law had been waiting five years to immigrate to the United States from Bangladesh “the right way,” he said.
“Then you see people coming across the border and getting things,” said his wife, Pat. “It’s tough. I feel bad for them, but it’s tough.”
Wells, who is running for Congress, and other local leaders initially feared there would be a surge of migrants on the streets after the welcome center closed. That hasn’t happened yet, he said, speculating that private organizations and nonprofits may be able to get migrants onto planes and buses fast enough to keep up with the influx.
Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area have recorded more than 150,000 migrant encounters since October 2023. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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“Soon the system will be overwhelmed and there won’t be enough money to send people where they want to go,” Wells feared.
Homeless shelters are already full and migrants could end up on the streets, he said.
“Everything is already full because of the immigrants and the homeless that have flooded into California in recent years,” Wells said. “So California has very little in the way of a safety net.”
Ramiro Vargas contributed the accompanying video.
