Get the Facts: Humanitarian aid organizations see changes at the California-Mexico border since President Trump took office
Nonprofits, volunteers, and humanitarian aid organizations are adjusting their work along the border as border crossings remain low.
Nonprofits, volunteers, and humanitarian aid organizations are adjusting their work along the border as border crossings remain low.
Nonprofits, volunteers, and humanitarian aid organizations are adjusting their work along the border as border crossings remain low.
KCRA 3 Investigates is getting the facts on border security at the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico.
Nonprofits, volunteers, and humanitarian aid organizations are adjusting their work along the border as border crossings remain low.
Some organizations say funding cuts under the Trump Administration are changing the services being offered to asylum seekers, detainees, and migrants as a result.
As CBP and active-duty military troops remain committed to gaining full operational control of the border, some organizations worry it will drive undocumented immigrants to make dangerous crossings, possibly risking their lives.
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Between the border walls of Mexico and the United States is an area known as "Whiskey 8." At times, it's been one of the largest migrant camps in San Diego during the height of the immigration crisis.
Adriana Jasso runs the humanitarian aid tent for the American Friends Service Committee. Once bustling with volunteers, it's now mostly empty, except for some necessities now collecting dust.
"We haven’t had contact with people in a couple of months," Jasso said. "Almost like night and day."
The focus of many nonprofits is shifting as fewer migrants cross into the U.S.
"It feels strange, it feels different, but the reality could change as it did two years ago," said Jasso.
Federal funding cuts under the Trump administration are also changing how nonprofits are helping migrants.
Noah Montague is a Department of Justice-accredited representative for the nonprofit Al Otro Lado. They provide free legal services to migrants in ICE custody at a detention facility in Imperial County.
"For a lot of these people, their interaction with us is the only interaction with someone that can provide info to the immigration legal system," Montague said. "Without the DOJ funding, it complicates how sustainable the program can be and how many services we can provide."
What is being funded is the Trump administration's military mission at the southern border. More than $300 million in taxpayer dollars have already been spent on reducing immigration, according to sources briefed on data from the Department of Defense.
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"The goal is to detect every single entry between the points of entry and make an interdiction," said CBP agent Eric Lavergne. "We need to have 100 percent situational awareness of the entire border."
This week, five people have been charged with human smuggling after a boat filled with migrants capsized off the San Diego coast, killing at least 3, including a 14-year-old boy.
Those unofficial and undetected crossings are unlocking new fears for human rights groups.
"Some of these paths and some of the ways people are coming into the country can be dangerous to the point of losing their lives," Jasso said.
As Customs and Border Patrol works toward complete operational control of the border, they're allowing the tent at Whiskey 8 to stay up, for now.
"We're hoping we don't hear what we don't want to hear, but for the time that we're able to return to the space, we're making an effort to come back," Jasso said.
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