SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Large groups of migrants have been deported to Tijuana, Mexico, in the past 24 hours, including two bus loads that arrived Tuesday night and more on Wednesday morning at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego.
Just south of the border, migrants can be seen walking along a pedestrian bridge that leads to a Mexican Customs facility in Tijuana. Once outside, the migrants are ushered into waiting vans and driven to an undisclosed location.
One deported migrant told reporters they had been detained while working, though it’s unclear where and when the apprehensions took place.
“If they have families here, most will want to return to be with their families and they will cross again,” said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego.
Rios predicts many of the people being deported will eventually attempt to cross the border illegally once again.
He also believes most of the people who held CBP One appointments that were canceled on Monday, will now turn to smugglers to get them into the U.S.
“There were people, including families who were waiting for a CBP One appointment and had been waiting for months, now their only recourse will be to contract the services of a smuggler whereas before they would’ve presented themselves at a port of entry and now that option is not available to them.”
Rios anticipates smugglers will be the ones who will benefit the most from President Donald Trump’s new border policies.
“We will see a return of smuggling networks that will make a lot of money off human suffering,” Rios said.
It’s hard to tell how many people have been deported since Trump took over, but according to U.S. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made 308 arrests in one day nationwide and transferred another 300 people from detention centers into ICE custody.
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