With shelter space low in San Diego, Border Patrol drops off migrants at bus stations

The mass flight cancellations that have disrupted travel plans for many around the United States are continuing to complicate the situation in San Diego for arriving asylum seekers and the people who work to support them.

Over the long holiday weekend, Border Patrol agents left hundreds of migrants at bus stops around San Diego County without any support to reach their final destinations around the country.

Normally, migrants stay for a few days at local shelters before traveling on to reunite with loved ones across the United States. But with winter weather and holiday travel — along with the collapse of Southwest Airlines’ flight schedule — shelters haven’t been able to move migrants onward as quickly as usual, meaning there is less capacity to receive new arrivals.

When the shelters do not have enough space, they triage based on vulnerability, prioritizing families with children, among others.

The federal government has opted to have the Border Patrol drop off the remaining people at bus stations around the county.

“CBP works diligently to ensure that releases are conducted in a safe manner and that all noncitizens released from custody are provided essential support upon release and may access transportation to continue to their destinations,” an unnamed Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “All individuals released from CBP to continue their immigration process are screened for national security and public safety concerns.”

It is unclear exactly how many people have been left at bus stations since the drop-offs began on Friday. Local CBP officials deferred to the Department of Homeland Security when asked for a count, and the DHS did not respond.

San Diego County estimated that roughly 880 people were left at bus stations by the Border Patrol from Friday through Monday, but conceded it‘s hard to know how accurate the estimate is.

“We are lobbying the federal government to direct more resources to our partners; and we are evaluating areas where we could assist if necessary,” said Michael Workman, spokesperson for the county.

Migrants wait in the San Diego airport Friday night.

(Ana Ramirez / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Union-Tribune could not confirm whether any drop-offs occurred on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The San Diego Rapid Response Network Migrant Shelter said on Tuesday that it is receiving up to 300 asylum seekers daily.

Kate Clark, an attorney with Jewish Family Service of San Diego who helps manage the network’s shelter, said Wednesday that the shelter did not anticipate having to turn away asylum seekers, but was still monitoring the situation closely.

“At this moment we are grateful to have regained some capacity,” Clark said. “We know the ongoing national travel challenges persist and will be continually assessing capacity to welcome guests into our care post-release from the Department of Homeland Security.”

The shelter’s steering committee urged all levels of government to do more to create infrastructure to receive new arrivals.

“We call on the federal government to prioritize rebuilding our country’s broken asylum and immigration systems, including improved processes for migrant shelter services across the border region,” the committee said Tuesday. “All levels of government must work together to welcome and meet the needs of all asylum seekers arriving in San Diego.”

The lack of reception for people arriving at the bus stations can mean that the migrants have no place to sleep or money to buy food.

After arriving there, some have struggled to find working phones to get in touch with loved ones and make travel plans. Others managed to make their way to the airport, only to find out that there were no flights available.

Some migrants were left at bus stations without family members who had crossed the border with them.

One man from Ecuador was left at a bus station on Friday while his pregnant wife ended up at a shelter in Riverside County after being processed by the Border Patrol. The shelter network helped reunite the couple on Christmas Eve.

A man from Peru who crossed the border with his mother told the Union-Tribune that he’d been unable to reach her since they were separated and he was dropped off at a bus station in Oceanside. He was worried because she has medical concerns, he said, and her phone was turned off.

Finally, he said, he heard from her — she’d been sent to a long-term immigration detention center in Eloy, Ariz. ICE did not immediately respond to questions about why the woman was detained.

It is not clear how many more families might be in similar situations.