On Tuesday, a throng of protesters planted on an area near a Border Patrol station in Murrieta, California, which led to the turning of several buses transporting undocumented immigrants, Buzzfeed reported. Photographs on the scene were made available on social media courtesy of local reporters. In the photos, the protestors are seen carrying US flags and signs with messages that read "Return to Sender" and "Bus illegal children to the White House." The others carried messages about Border Police focusing on protecting the border as oppose to looking over detained migrants.
US immigration officials have said that the migrants were a group of around 140 adults and children from Texas who were flown to San Diego then transported to California to be assigned case numbers and undergo background checks. Most of them would be released under limited supervision to await deportation proceedings, the officials added.
Murrieta town mayor Alan Long has expressed his concern about the transport of the immigrants to his jurisdiction, and had said that they pose a threat to the public safety of his community, Reuters said.
The group is reportedly a part of a surge in undocumented families and unaccompanied minors fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to the US by way of human trafficking networks through the country of Mexico. Under the law, the US government cannot immediately deport immigrants who have illegally cross borders.
Board Chris Harris of the union representing border patrol agents said that the immigrant bus originally intended for Murrieta might have been rerouted to one of six other Border Patrol stations in San Diego. Meanwhile, immigration officials also said that a separate group fo undocumented families with children were also transported to a similar processing facility in El Centro on Tuesday. However, there are no reports of disruptions about the group's arrival at the facility.
