Police ransacked El Chaparral Campsite
Tijuana Baja, California, Mexico

Trapped in Tijuana, thousands of asylum seekers have been prevented from applying for asylum in the United States. It started with President Trump barring their entry after implementing Title 42 and MMP policies. Migrant Protection Protocols is best known as the “Remain in Mexico” program.

In 2020, when Joe Biden won the U.S. presidential election, he implied he would make good on his promise to end the approach that has forced asylum seekers to wait in border cities, something that has not happened.

However, migrants must go through more than just waiting in border cities. Migrants face discrimination, abuse and the rules of the Mexican authorities. It has become more difficult for a migrant to request asylum. Many asylum seekers are forced to leave home because of violence, war, climate change or to seek better economic opportunities.

On Thursday, October 28, 2021, by order of the Mexican authorities, police and city hall workers showed up at El Chaparral migrant camp in Tijuana to establish a semi-permanent chain-link fence around the tents. The purpose of this chain-link barrier was to conduct a census and to provide an ID card for every camp resident.

Government workers on this evening started removing tents and trashing the belongings of migrants who were present or not present, without consideration. When residents of the campsite who were not present (many of whom were working) returned later in the night, they found all their things, including important documents, gone. They were heartbroken to know their belongings and essential documents for their asylum process, which cost time and money to obtain, ended up in the garbage.

To add insult to injury, city hall workers cut off the electricity to El Chaparral.

El Chaparral residents told human rights organizations that Mexican authorities did not allow aid organizations or volunteers to drop off donations and supplies that many El Chaparral residents needed.

Now there are Mexican officials at the camp entrance 24/7. Migrants must show their ID cards when they leave or entering the camp. Without this identification, no one can enter. Human rights, aid and volunteer groups need to request a permit from Mexican authorities before entering the camp.

The Mexican government’s shutting down El Chaparral leaves its displaced residents without hope. El Chaparral has been home of approximately 1,000 migrants for over a year.