SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The U.S. is installing a new barrier just north of the border to keep migrants from crossing into the U.S. in large groups.
It’s located where the Tijuana River enters the U.S. via a concrete-lined canal, in an area where U.S. Customs and Border Protection says many migrants “stampede” north of the border during mass crossings.
It’s also the place where a migrant from West Africa died after taking part in one of these crossings two weeks ago. His body was found about a quarter mile north of the border downstream in the Tijuana River Valley.
Although the San Diego County Medical Examiner has not released an official cause of death, Mexico’s Institute of Migration has said it’s likely the migrant fell in the water and drowned after he was accidentally stomped by others in the group.
CBP has said the new barrier will prevent these mass incursions and will remain in place until a permanent one, which is currently under construction in the same area, is finished.
When complete, it will connect both sides of the river allowing Border Patrol agents to traverse from one side to the other, something they currently can’t do.
Until the work is done, CBP believes the temporary barrier will help prevent mass crossings that have been taking place in recent months.
Coincidentally, Mexico’s National Institute of Migration has hired contractors to install a chain-link fence with barbed wire on the Tijuana side of the border.
“From the boundary south for 800 meters,” said Ramon Zavala, one of the workers.
Zavala said the fence is going up on the banks of the canal on the Mexico side to prevent people from making their way down to the flowing water and then into the U.S.
Mexico has also installed a portable observation tower, so members of its National Guard can keep an eye out for large groups of migrants who might be gathering in the area.
According to the Imparcial Newspaper in Tijuana, the soldiers have been asked to keep migrants away from the canal and not allow large incursions into the U.S.
The area has become one of the busiest places for migrants to unlawfully cross the border between San Diego and Tijuana.