Confusion over Biden policies birthed refugee camp

This makeshift refugee camp in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, has swelled in recent months with asylum seekers desperate to cross into the United States and confused over President Biden’s immigration policies.

Migrant activists say the camp, which started growing in February and now numbers some 2,000 migrants, sprang up in part as an unintended consequence of Biden's mixed approach to undoing the hardline immigration policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Eva Zacarias is a migrant from Mexico who believed she could claim asylum based on rumors that the situation had changed under Biden.

“I came here asking for asylum, but they say there is no asylum. My children are American citizens… We don't know anything; that's why my children and I want to turn ourselves into the immigration authorities, for President Biden sees what is happening with the children. There are children here who are citizens. Nobody listens to us. We are not moving from here; we are forgotten."

Biden is trying to balance a more humane immigration policy with a desire not to encourage further migration from Mexico and Central America.

Back in February, the Biden administration announced it would begin phasing out Trump's migrant program, which had forced thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their asylum cases to be heard.

As a result, refugee camps for those seeking asylum cropped up near ports of entry.

Migrants and activists say this camp near Tijuana - which relies on donations from churches and nonprofits - is growing increasingly dangerous, ,with unsanitary conditions, drug use, and gangs entering the area.

Governmental organizations are largely absent, and humanitarian presence is sporadic.

Talk of kidnapping attempts is rampant, and many migrants avoid leaving their tents for fear of their safety and the safety of their children.

The U.S. border remains closed to the vast majority of asylum seekers, but confusion continues, as new families arrive every day to the refugee camp, putting their lives at risk as they hope to be the next in line to cross the border.

A DHS spokesperson said in statement quote “The Biden administration has made it clear that our borders are not open, people should not make the dangerous journey, and individuals and families are subject to border restrictions, including expulsion,".