SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Dozens of makeshift ladders mysteriously appeared in a dumpster near the border wall on Tuesday morning.
The discovery was made in an area known as “Whiskey 8,” where migrants congregate along the border between San Diego and Tijuana, about 2 miles west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
All the ladders — most of which were made out of rebar and other materials — were used by smugglers to help migrants get over border barriers in the area, a Border Patrol source told Border Report.
In the past, agents have been seen throwing similar ladders into the container. However, the source said they weren’t sure where all the ladders came from or how recently they might’ve been gathered.
A migrant advocate who asked not to be identified, said the ladders symbolize “a waste of money,” in reference to the $15 billion used to build 30-foot-tall sections of the border wall along the southern border.
They said the ladders show how “easily the walls can be climbed.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to questions about the ladders and how extensively they are being used.
In the past, Border Patrol has said the ladders are an example of how smugglers put migrant lives in danger.
According to UC San Diego Health System, it treated more than 400 migrants last year who had injured themselves while trying to get over the walls.
Some of its trauma surgeons published a study in the Journal of American Journal of Medical Association two years ago describing the type of injuries they were seeing since the walls were raised to 30-feet back in 2019.
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