Several buses with asylum seekers on board arrived at a migrant shelter in Mission Valley, where they’ll be provided meals. NBC 7’s Nicole Gomez has more information.
San Diego religious groups have set up temporary shelters in San Diego County to aid newly-arrived migrants on their journey to seek asylum in the United States, but their ability to help has been slowed by a Florida judge's restraining order.
Buses with some migrants from various countries were arriving at the temporary shelters Thursday night. One of those shelters is in Mission Valley and hosted by Catholic Charities, which received federal funding to work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to house asylum-seekers for a night once they reach the U.S. and before they are transferred to their sponsors in other areas of the state or country. This and other charities like it across the state and country run similar facilities to .
The goal is to support CBP's overfilled processing centers near the border and to provide migrants with a meal and a stay on their next destination with a sponsor, where they will continue the asylum-seeking process. According to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, 90% of asylum seekers who cross through the border do not stay in San Diego. Most continue on to their family sponsors in other counties or states.
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All of the eight CBP processing centers near San Diego County were already over capacity before the end Thursday night of a coronavirus-era policy that allowed the United States to expel asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Its ending was expected to create an influx of requests for asylum in the U.S.
Some of the migrants at the Mission Valley shelter Thursday night were released into the U.S. through a policy known as "parole with conditions." Under the policy instated by the Biden Administration, some asylum-seekers would be released into the U.S. without the ability to track them and without court orders.
But that policy has since been halted by a Florida judge, who issued a restraining order that prevents migrants from being released until they are fully processed with a court date or tracking monitor -- which takes exponentially longer. The restraining order is in effect for two weeks.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection was not happy with the court order but said they would comply. They released the following statement:
“CBP will comply with the court order and is assessing next steps.
This is a harmful ruling that will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, and risks creating dangerous conditions for border patrol agents and migrants.
The fact remains that when overcrowding has occurred in Border Patrol facilities, Republican and Democratic Administrations alike have used this parole authority to protect the safety and security of migrants and the workforce.
Individuals apprehended by CBP are thoroughly vetted against all national security and public safety systems, regardless of how they are processed.”
Immigration
Two migrants who were released into the U.S. under the policy before the parole policy was halted told NBC 7 they were released without a court date to make an asylum claim but were instructed to return to their nearest immigration and customs station in 60 days.
"On the paper, it says I think two months," one person who did not want to be identified said in Spanish. "Of course I will appear [to the ICE facility] because this country is giving me the opportunity for a better life."
Temporary shelters, like Catholic Charities' facility, will continue to receive migrants -- while space is available -- who are released into the U.S., although likely at a much slower rate. A spokesperson for the facility told NBC 7 that they are complying with all CBP rules and want to provide temporary humanitarian support while migrants are working their way to legal asylum.
As for migrants at the border near San Ysidro, CBP says that any migrants who have not already requested asylum will be processed under Title 8 immigration rules. The Biden administration has already put several new restrictions in place to try to halt illegal immigration and they will turn away anyone seeking asylum who didn’t first seek protection in a country they traveled through, or first applied online.
A lawsuit has already been filed in San Francisco that says the Biden policy is too similar to a Trump policy that was already rejected.
Once an asylum seeker has a court date, they have to prove to an immigration judge it's not safe for them to return to their home country. In that interview
A DHS officer who spoke to NBC 7 on the condition of anonymity said to be granted asylum, a migrant must have a "well-founded fear or suffered past persecution under certain categories like race, religion, nationality."
From there, it could take years for their case to make its way through immigration courts. Meanwhile, an asylum seeker will be able to work and live in the U.S. until they face an immigration judge, who must decide whether to grant asylum or expel the individual from the country -- a decision they do not take lightly.
