EL CAJON, Calif. — On a recent Friday afternoon, Corey Gauteau’s small gun shop northeast of San Diego was packed with customers.
Many of those who purchased pistols from Firearms Unlimited California said they were concerned about large numbers of migrants being released onto local streets after the area became the epicenter of the border crisis. . The area is only 40 miles from southern El Cajon. A California suburb with a population of 105,000.
Since September, about 125,000 immigrants have been released onto the streets of the San Diego area, which is worrying for Gauteau and his clients, they told the Post.
More migrants began heading toward California after Texas sealed off large swaths of its border with Mexico with razor wire and boots on the ground.
The Border Patrol saw an average of 1,200 migrants entering the San Diego area illegally a day in the week ending Feb. 4, while some of Texas’ busiest areas saw an average of 1,200 migrants entering the country illegally a day during the same period. Only a few hundred people entered the country. According to gReporting data obtained by CBS News.
In the Del Rio border region of Texas, the number of migrant apprehensions dropped to 200 per day during the week of February 4, compared to 2,300 per day in December.
“The problem for people who live around gun stores is the drop-offs on the street,” Gauteau said.
He said U.S. Border Patrol has begun busing migrants claiming asylum into communities and releasing them onto the streets.
“That brought us business,” he added.
In the wake of this issue, one of Goto’s clients, Keith Carnevale, decided to arm his entire family.
“My wife and I have had home defense guns for years. But there’s been a lot going on south of the border lately, and a lot of people are coming in, making my concerns even more widespread.” he said.
“I don’t think it’s just people coming in trying to find work. I think there are a lot of hostile people coming in with malicious intent, malicious intentions that can potentially cause chaos. Masu.”
Keith’s son, Anthony Carnevale, who came with him to buy his own gun, said the area is completely unequipped to deal with the sheer number of street releases.
“I don’t think this is just about the number of illegal aliens. I think a lot of people are concerned about how our government is allowing this to happen and why,” he said.
Local Shari Finn, pointing to a Glock pistol in her bag, told the Post that the border issue influenced her decision to buy a gun “1,000 percent.”
She and her husband, Wally, run an organization that helps find missing families. Some of them are victims of looters who entered the country illegally.
“I carry it with me everywhere I go,” Shari Finn said.
Migrants continue to be released onto the streets in and around San Diego as Border Patrol processing centers in the region have more than twice as many migrants as they can hold, according to recent agency data obtained by The Post. .
El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells acknowledged that residents do not feel safe due to the influx of illegal border crossers into the city.
“We are seeing large-scale violence happening, a lot of it from immigrant situations, but a lot of it from homelessness situations as well,” Wells told the Post, adding, “People are scared. “I believe they are even more armed,” he added.
Border Patrol can detain migrants for up to 72 hours, making the challenge of processing migrants quickly while conducting background checks daunting.
In one incident in March 2023, Border Patrol agents arrested and released Mohammad Karwin, 48, an Afghan national whose name was on a terrorist watch list.
The FBI notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he was a suspected member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hizb-e-Islam, nearly a year after his release. was.
ICE arrested Mr. Kerwin in San Antonio, Texas, on February 28, but an immigration judge later ordered him released again without knowledge of his alleged ties to a criminal group. Numerous deadly attacks on US soldiers in Afghanistan.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Post that Kerwin is currently in custody.
