Forty Brazilian and Colombian migrants took advantage of a hole in the wall to enter the US
Mireya Cuellar
The Baja California Journey
Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, September 6, 2022, p. eleven
Tijuana, BC., Some 40 migrants, mostly Brazilian and Colombian nationals, crossed into the United States through a gap in the border wall located near Playas de Tijuana to surrender to the authorities of that country and request asylum; a couple of hours later the Border Patrol picked them up.
According to what could be seen –since they were placed next to the fence–, the majority were young men, there were even three children, two very small who, unaware of the event, were taking a nap or playing with the sand.
It is increasingly common to see groups of people crossing the border and no longer running to avoid border agents from that country, but waiting to be detained and looking for a way to allow them to start an asylum process.
A young girl, who said she was originally from Brazil, reported that this is the third time she has tried to apply for asylum. The first spent four months in Mexicali and one in San Diego, California.
He said that when they arrived the wall – made of metal bars – was already cut off and they simply walked across; They settled next to the fence to protect themselves from the intense rays of the sun on Monday and thus wait for the immigration authorities, turn themselves in and make their request for refuge.
Although the area is guarded by Border Patrol agents, no one did anything to stop them. The area where the migrants settled is the same where at the end of last August two foreigners who crossed swimming in a wetsuit were arrested.
The group settled in the area near the coast adjacent to the Playas de Tijuana lighthouse, next to the Friendship Park that the United States divided with two walls to control the access of people from its territory.
Currently, migrants cross during the day, because at night the criminals control the wall and charge up to 5 thousand dollars just for allowing them to approach, climb and jump. They don’t pass them or help them, they just let them jump.
