SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — As a white bus pulled up to what used to be an elementary school in San Diego’s Mid-City neighborhood, dozens of volunteers got ready to receive yet another bus load of asylum seekers in need of “direction.”
This time, it was only adult men who came off the bus into what used to be the school’s cafeteria.
The first thing most migrants did was connect their cell phones to several power strips that have been laid out on tables.
“These individuals are scared, this is a new country for them, so we’ll spend a little time helping them to get them to their final destination,” said Mauricio Torre, one of the volunteers.
Torre stated they are helping anywhere from 400 to 700 migrants daily.
“They are grabbing some food, a cup of coffee. Some wait here and a sponsor will come to pick them up,” he said. “A big part of what we’re doing is we provide compassion and support for individuals, helping them with their onward travel, help them get to the airport, transporting them as well.”
According to Torre, most migrants stay about 8 hours before they are picked up or arrange for a ride to the airport.
“In some rare cases, we provide them with an overnight stay at a nearby hotel.”
The facility is being sponsored by the County of San Diego.
Supervisor Nora Vargas and other officials spent the morning touring the site.
“If it wasn’t for the fact the County of San Diego was able to allocated $3 million, we would be in a very difficult situation,” said Vargas. “I’m afraid if we didn’t have a location like this, we’d go back to a place where people are dropped off at different locations throughout San Diego County, that is just not safe for them for everyone else.”
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