Mary Scrantin
Despite warnings from Border Patrol, California veterans, have taken it upon themselves to fix the immigration crisis by sealing gaps in the border. The group known as the “Border Vets,” has concentrated on Jacumba Hot Springs in the mountains, 60 miles east of San Diego.
This location has seen a rise in migrant crossings in recent months, forcing the veterans to take matters into their own hands.
Vets Take Responsibility
“Whoever it is you’re waiting to do this for you, they’re not coming. It’s going to be people like us, like America’s veterans,” retired marine Kate Monroe told Border Report.
She mentioned that safeguarding the nation was of utmost importance. She added that if they discovered any gaps in the border wall, they would take action by ‘installing razor wire’ to do their best to defend the country.
Diverse Migrants Flock To Jacumba
Jacumba Hot Springs is now famous for the surge of immigrants crossing the border there on their way to San Diego. Gregory Bull, a photographer from the Associated Press, recently took pictures of immigrants entering Jacumba Hot Springs.
He told CNN that most of the immigrants were from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. There were also some from Asian countries like China and India.
San Diego Sector Sees 140,000 Crossings
Since the start of Fiscal Year 2024 which started October 1st, nearly 140,000 illegal immigrants have crossed into the San Diego sector, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
These migrants, hailing from Central Asia, Africa, China, and South America, sneak across the border near Jacumba Hot Springs. Instead of running away or hiding from the authorities, they gather at an unofficial camp and wait for Border Patrol. When the Border Patrol arrives, they transport the migrants to a processing facility via buses.
Veterans Vow To Continue Border Work
According to Customs and Border Protection people cannot change, adjust, or repair the border barrier. Only border patrol agents and contractors have the license to do that.
However, Monroe, one of the veterans, said that the rule cannot deter them and they’ll keep doing their work regardless. “That’s not going to stop us or deter us from coming here,” Monroe said. “If we can stop them for one day, one hour, one week, we’ve stopped more people from coming into our country.”
Border Patrol Supports Razor Wire Installation
According to Monroe, the border patrol agents they’ve met so far haven’t stopped them from installing razor wire. On the contrary, they’ve been very appreciative of the group’s efforts.
Once migrants are eligible to apply for asylum, they receive the necessary paperwork and are allowed to enter the country. However, over 1,300 newly arrived migrants were left on the streets of San Diego over the weekend as reported by officials.
Influx Puts Strain On Local Resources
This influx has put a strain on local resources. So much so that San Diego hasn’t been able to provide basic amenities for its migrants.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond mentioned that Border Patrol released over 1,500 migrants to the San Ysidro bus stop within three days.
Taxpayer-Funded Center Closes
This happened after a $6 million taxpayer-funded migrant processing center shut down last week, as reported by FOX 5 San Diego. It was run by a non-profit in a deserted elementary school.
“It’s disgraceful for our country and what we’ve become and the fact that this is how we treat immigrants,” Desmond said. “Border Patrol is their Uber, San Diego is their travel agent.”
Tax Not Enough To Sustain Welcome Centre
Desmond added that the San Diego Migrant Welcome Center should never have been funded by tax-payers. It took just four and a half months for its funds to get exhausted, with approximately $1.5 million worth of expenses per month.
The center was a place of refuge for migrants. They could also charge their phones while waiting to be processed and sent to their final destinations.
Airport Arrivals Reported
Since October, the center has processed more than 81,000 migrants. Hundreds of migrants arrived at the San Diego airport after it was closed, as reported by KUSI.
“We’ve got a legal system in place, where people can apply online throughout the world, they can go to an embassy, they can come in with dignity, without having to cross through a fence or go through a river,” Desmond said.
Charities Aid Migrants At Airport
The news crews from the outlet saw a bus of migrants arriving at the airport around 7 p.m. on Friday. According to FOX 5, a non-profit institution assisted migrants to check in for their flights.
At the same time, another charity group was seen distributing food to migrants who were waiting and asleep at the airport.
Migrant Describes Airport Stay
One of the migrants, Mustapha Micradi, told the outlet that he had been sleeping outside the airport for around five days. He added that he couldn’t access his bank account in Morocco.
Micradi stated that he crossed the border with many other migrants. They all went through processing by Border Patrol. Subsequently, they were transported to a transit center.
Migrants Face Hardships At Bus Stop
From there, they got on a bus to the airport. He told the outlet of his desire to fly to New York. Desmond reportedly witnessed over 100 migrants get dropped off at a San Ysidro bus stop on Sunday morning.
With no bathroom facilities available for the released migrants, some resorted to the parking lot of the MTS bus stop. Additionally, Desmond recalled witnessing migrants changing clothes between cars in the parking lot due to the lack of facilities.
The Government Is To Blame?
“This is entirely the fault of the Federal Government for its open border policies and the State of California for incentivizing people from around the world to come here,” San Diego County supervisor Jim Desmond said in a tweet.
The CBP has reported that there have been 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, from October to September. If this trend continues, the number of border encounters nationwide in fiscal year 2024 might exceed last year’s record of 2,475,669.
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