Migrant shelters in Tijuana have lots of space available

Updated: Aug 7, 2024 / 11:08 PM CDT

Melissa Shepard, left, directing attorney of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, explains the Biden administration’s new asylum restrictions to migrants at the Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, on Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat)

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — More than 2,500 spaces are available at migrant shelters throughout Tijuana, according to the head of the city’s Migrant Affairs Office.

Enrique Lucero says fewer asylum-seekers are showing up in the region ever since President Joe Biden issued an executive order on June 4 to cut down on the number allowed into the U.S.

Migrants must secure an asylum appointment via the CBPOne app, but Lucero said many have stopped coming to the border fearing they might not be given the opportunity to seek asylum.

For now, Lucero says, Tijuana’s shelters have plenty of space for men, women and children.

“Some shelters have as many as 100 beds available, others have 50,” he said.

Lucero expects this to become the status quo over the next three months.

He said things could change after the Nov. 5 presidential election in the U.S.

“We could have a rush and have to open emergency shelters, but that is very far away, we just have to wait out the election to see what happens,” Lucero said.