SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — As of Monday evening, little was left behind of the migrants who had illegally camped for days in the Jacumba mountains. Some of their belongings lingered, along with makeshift tents they had constructed with sticks and bushes. A dozen migrants camped in the desolate area as they waited to be picked up and processed by U.S. Border Patrol.
Marco Antonio was one of the asylum seekers that camped for days in San Diego County's Jacumba mountains. He said travelling by foot to America was risky, but staying in Peru was worse.
“It's too much, violencia,” He said.
CBS 8 spoke with him before he and other asylum seekers were picked up by Border Patrol officers. By 6 p.m. Monday, the migrants seeking asylum were loaded onto a bus and taken to a processing facility. This comes at a time where San Diego County is seeing an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Migrant advocates told CBS 8 a few different issues could have led to the recent influx. He told CBS 8 earlier in September that migrants aren't always picked up by border patrol in a timely manner. He also said the CBP 1 app is causing some problems as well. Migrants are asked to use the app to start the asylum-seeking process, but many of their phones don't have technology to use it.
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily closed the Pedwest border crossing. CBP officials said the closure would allow CBP's Office of Field Operations to help U.S. Border Patrol process migrants who have arrived between the ports of entry.
For Marco Antonio, he said he has the proper documentation. After a long journey, he hopes he can get into the U.S. very soon.
“I’m coming here because I need help,” he said.
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