FOX 5 San Diego
by: Salvador Rivera
Thursday July 13, 2023
SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — About 17,000 migrants are waiting in Northern Baja California for an opportunity to cross the border, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Migration.
The agency says most of the migrants are in Tijuana with a smaller number in Mexicali to the east.
“They are stranded here, in shelters, hotels and private houses,” said David Pérez Tejada Padilla, head of Migration Institute in Baja California. “It’s hard to come up with an exact figure because the numbers change daily.”
He said they estimate about 8,000 migrants are showing up in Tijuana every month to begin the asylum process through the CBP One app, which allows migrants to set up interviews on the U.S. side of the border.
The interviews take place at ports of entry with U.S. Immigration personnel who determine if a migrant has a valid case to begin the court asylum process north of the border.
“We are seeing people arrive in Tijuana from 46 different countries, especially from Africa from countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Ghana,” said Pérez Tejada. “And most of these migrants don’t have the resources to fly into the city, they are showing up daily by bus.”
Perez Tejada also said 15 percent of migrants who do arrive by plane are from Uzbekistan, Kurdistan and Tajikistan.
The director of Tijuana’s Migrant Affairs Office says migrants are having to wait up to 90 days to secure an appointment via the CBP One app.
So far, he said, 49,000 migrants have been able to cross the border in the San Diego-Tijuana area since the start of the year for appointments.
Before the end of Title 42 on May 11, migrants were coming to the U.S.-Mexico border in big numbers hoping to get picked up by Border Patrol agents for a chance to start their asylum process.
But now that Title 42 has ended, the Biden administration is allowing migrants to cross the border legally if they set up an appointment via the CBP One app.
Without an appointment, those who are apprehended between ports of entry can be returned to Mexico or their home countries and will be banned from the U.S. for at least five years.
According to immigration officials in Mexico, the new rules are making most migrants wait out the process south of the border.