SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — As work continues on one of two border barriers near the ocean between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico has assigned more members of its National Guard to patrol the area as it tries to keep migrants from crossing the border unlawfully.
Most of the new fence is done except for a small segment that will also be replaced in the coming weeks.
The work involves taking down the old structure gradually, which means leaving gaps in the wall that migrants and smugglers try to exploit.
The apertures can be as wide as 30 inches, and even though crews do place temporary fencing to seal the openings, at times it’s not enough, according to Mexico’s National Guard.
This is part of the reason Mexico has decided to deploy even more troops to the area while Border Patrol agents work the north side of the barrier.
According to Mexico’s National Guard, it will try to have at least three soldiers on patrol in the area at all times.
In the meantime, Tijuana’s fire department and other city officials are imploring migrants not to scale the wall or swim around it where the barrier extends into the ocean.
“It’s not worth risking your life by trying to swim around the wall,” said Juan Hernández Guiñal, director of water rescues for the Tijuana Fire Department. “There are high waves and strong currents, which add to the level of danger for the migrants, we urge them to not cross the border in this area.”
Enrique Lucero, director of the Migrant Affairs Office in Tijuana, says an ongoing public campaign to keep migrants from crossing the border near the coast, along with the added patrols by the National Guard, seems to be working.
“There are still a few crossings using ladders to get over the wall or people dashing along the canal, but we’re not seeing the numbers in this area like we did in August or September, right now most of the traffic is in the Jacumba area,” said Lucero.
Jacumba is located in the mountains about 65 miles east of the San Diego-Tijuana region.
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