SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The shelter set up to house deported Mexican nationals in Tijuana remains “relative slow and empty.”
Mónica Vega Aguirre, the facility’s coordinator with the state of Baja California, says since the shelter opened its doors nearly two weeks ago, only 605 migrants have been brought in after being deported from the U.S.
It has a capacity for 2,600 people and provides meals, medical and psychological services, and governmental help such as birth certificate recovery.
Vega Aguirre says about 95 percent of people who have stayed at the shelter have been single men who were recently caught trying to unlawfully cross the border or had their asylum claims rejected.
“The announced mass deportations have not taken place,” she said. “We have noticed that some were likely in detention centers based on their clothing, but it’s important to remind people these men are not criminals here.”
She also stated the deported migrants who have arrived at the facility are from all over Mexico.
“Most choose not to sleep at the shelter and decide to go back home with a bus ticket provided by the federal government, others get airline tickets from their families.”
Baja California Secretary of State Alfredo Álvarez Cárdenas has said they’ve yet to notice an increase in deportations since President Trump took over.
“It’s been the normal levels,” he said. “This hasn’t turned into an emergency, we have yet to see a significant increase.”
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