Following a recent mass release, approximately 1,500 migrants have reportedly flooded the streets and airport in San Diego. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond stated that Border Patrol released over 1,500 migrants to the San Ysidro bus stop within three days.
This occurred after a $6 million taxpayer-funded migrant processing center closed last week, as FOX 5 San Diego reported. It had been operated by a non-profit out of an abandoned 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.”
Desmond mentioned that taxpayers should have never funded the San Diego Migrant Welcome Center. It exhausted its funds in just four and a half months, spending approximately $1.5 million per month.
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The center provided migrants a place to seek refuge and charge their phones until they were processed and sent to their final destinations. Since October, the center has processed more than 81,000 migrants. Following its closure, hundreds of migrants arrived at the San Diego airport, 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.
“And right now, what we’re allowing to happen is, we’re allowing people who just walk across the border to jump ahead of the line. And I don’t blame them for doing it if we’re allowing it to happen. Why apply legally, if you can just jump ahead of the line.”
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The news crews from the outlet witnessed a bus of migrants arriving at the airport around 7 p.m. on Friday. According to FOX 5, a non-profit organization assisted migrants with checking in for their flights. At the same time, another charity group was observed distributing food to migrants who were sleeping at the airport.
One migrant, Mustapha Micradi, informed the outlet that he had been sleeping outside the airport for approximately five days. He explained that he couldn’t access his bank account in Morocco.
Micradi stated that he crossed the border with a large group of other migrants, underwent processing by Border Patrol, and was subsequently transported to a transit center. From there, they boarded a bus to the airport. He expressed his hope to fly to New York.
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Desmond reported witnessing over 100 migrants being dropped off at a San Ysidro bus stop on Sunday morning. Desmond mentioned that many migrants approached him, inquiring about how to reach destinations such as New York and Virginia.
With no bathroom facilities available for the released migrants, some resorted to relieving themselves in 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.
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