On Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided to keep in place Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy that allows asylum-seekers to be quickly turned away from the border.
The move comes in the wake of thousands of asylum seekers crossing daily into El Paso, Texas, drawing the attention of immigration activists and opponents along the U.S. border. Title 42, a pandemic-era regulation, allows the U.S. to turn away asylum seekers trying to enter the country.
Title 42 is strongly backed by Republicans worried about the number of people crossing the southern border. It is opposed by immigrant rights groups, who say it is inhumane.
According to San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, more than 1,000 migrants have been taken from the border and dropped off at transit centers around San Diego County since Dec. 23.
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A representative of the city of San Diego referred NBC 7's questions to Customs & Border Protection, while a spokesperson for the city of El Cajon told NBC 7 by email on Tuesday that “they don’t have anything to contribute to this story.”
Locally, the migrants are being bussed to transit hubs in El Cajon, San Diego and Oceanside.
A spokesperson for the city of Oceanside told NBC 7 Tuesday that around 70 people were dropped off by Border Patrol on Friday at the city's transit center. Another 80 migrants were dropped at the Rancho Del Oro Sprinter Station in Oceanside the following day. The spokesperson said the city’s housing division connected some people with temporary shelter, while others met family or friends, and some moved onto different destinations.
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That official count from Oceanside, however, didn’t include numbers from Monday, when there was a sea of confusion not only for the migrants but for those trying to help them.
“They have no idea what to do, where to go — nothing,“ said retired Customs & Border Patrol agent Gil Maza, who went to tjhe Rancho Del Oro Transit station to help the migrants. "No matter what side of this you are on, this is not humane. This is not humane.”
A statement released by Customs & Border Protection of Southern California, stated, in part: “CBP works diligently to ensure that releases are conducted in a safe manner and that all noncitizens released from custody are provided essential support upon release and may access transportation to continue to their destinations.”
“Basically, they are saying we’re dropping them off in a safe way but not giving them any resources or avenues to get to their final destination,“ Desmond said.
Desmond also said that CBP is telling the county how many and where migrants will be dropped off but not when. In a Tweet on Tuesday, he said the county is expecting more people to be dropped, totaling over 1,000 people in the past four days.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court also agreed to hear oral arguments Title 42 and rule on whether the states can intervene. A decision in the case will likely by issued in June.
