SAN DIEGO (Border Report) – Over the weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, dressed in full riot gear, staged an exercise to prepare for the possibility of migrants rushing through the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
The simulation lasted no more than 10 minutes while normal port operations went on.
Migrant advocates believe that when Title 42 comes to an on Thursday, many migrants will move to ports of entry to try and gain access to the United States and seek asylum.
A CBP spokesperson told Border Report no one will be allowed through a port of entry without an appointment arranged via the CBP One application.
Legally, migrants seeking asylum must ask for it at ports, airports, or ports of entry.
Despite this information, also being made public in Spanish south of the border, some believe migrants will nevertheless attempt to get through border crossings and between ports of entry legally or otherwise.
For the past three years, Title 42 has precluded many migrants from seeking asylum as the order allows CBP officers and agents to expel people from the U.S. almost immediately after being apprehended.
Title 42 is an order suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection to prevent the spread of diseases such as COVID-19.
It was instituted by the Trump administration at the beginning of the pandemic.
On Monday morning, migrant advocates and a few migrant shelter operators held a news conference to encourage migrants to stay put and not cross the border without an appointment made on the CBP One app.
They’re also asking the Biden administration to design migration reform.
“Better policies should be done by the Biden administration,” said Hugo Castro, a migrant advocate who works on both sides of the border. “Instead, they are trying to break down the spirits, they are trying to steal their hope by forcing migrants to either stay in Mexico or the country they are running from.”
According to Castro, there are 10,000 migrants right now in the city of Tijuana and 5,000 in Mexicali who plan on going north of the border to seek asylum in the near future.
Pastor Albert Rivera, who runs the Agape Shelter in Tijuana, said they have seen a 300 percent increase in the number of migrants arriving in the city of Tijuana during the last few weeks.
“There are more Mexican migrants in shelters throughout Baja California than any other nationality,” said Rivera.
During Title 42, most migrants from Mexico have been excluded from exemptions and returned to Mexico without an opportunity to ask for asylum.
According to Rivera, with Title 42 being eliminated, many migrants from Mexico believe they will finally get a chance to plead their cases for asylum without being returned to their homeland immediately.
