U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week reported almost 2,000 more migrant crossings than last week along the San Diego U.S.-Mexico border.
Along the border, west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, volunteers have set up tents to meet the basic needs of migrants while they wait to be taken in by border patrol agents and be processed.
“The gate was open. The big gate was open, and we crossed running all the way here,” Aaron, an 11-year-old from Peru, said.
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Aaron and his mother reached American soil on Friday morning.
“Adrenaline, excitement, because we were crossing into another country, and we can have a new future,” Aaron said.
He’s among the latest wave of migrant children arriving to San Diego’s border. His arrival comes nearly two weeks after a federal judge’s ruling ordered border patrol agents to care for the welfare of migrant children in makeshift camps along the border.
“Basically, what the ruling was from Judge Gee in the court was that there was something that was a settlement back in the mid-90s called the Flores settlement. It dealt with unaccompanied minors, children that are undocumented, and making sure that they have safe conditions upon arrival,” Tammy Lin, University of San Diego adjunct professor and supervisor attorney for USD Immigration Law Clinic, said.
The ruling gives border patrol agents 72 hours to get children into a secure facility while they await processing.
The day the ruling came down, CBP said it "is reviewing the court’s order. CBP will continue to transport vulnerable individuals and children encountered at the border to its facilities as quickly as possible."
Migrant advocates like Benjamin Prado, who is the coordinator for the U.S.-Mexico border program, said they are keeping a close watch to ensure border patrol complies with the judge’s orders.
“We have a good number of people that are arriving. We see longer wait times than usual, and unfortunately, even children who have been waiting for quite a while now,” Prado said.
Prado said children should be processed faster, particularly as the weather warms up.
“They have a lot of resources, so they should be able to get children out of here as soon as possible,” he said.
For Aaron, it was all worth it. America is the land where he came to fulfill his dreams.
“Work, new adventures, have more things, a cell phone, have a Nintendo Switch, a home and robots,” Aaron said.
The judge also ruled that the Department of Homeland Security is required to file a report with the court within six weeks providing an update on the number of children under the custody and the status of compliance with the order.
