SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Bus load after bus load of migrants are arriving at three shelters in San Diego and Imperial counties.
Jean is from Turkey and spent two hours at one of the shelters before choosing to book a hotel room somewhere else and catch up with friends.
“They asked him if he wanted to be covid tested and he said no," said Jean.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it provides basic care services for the migrants such as COVID-19 testing, offers them resources like clothing, and sets them up with transportation to their next destination.
This is a video ABC 10news obtained of what one of the rooms looks like inside. It shows cots filling a room that officials say people will likely not stay in.
Cots for a stay that officials say is usually no more than two days.
“Mostly males would be sheltered together like that and then there are rooms for people who are either need to be isolated there socially vulnerable as well as families," said Brian Ferguson.
Ferguson said the shelter has been operational since 2019.
He said it saw its busiest day ever on the Eve of Title 42’s expiration with, 1,100 people filling their shelters.
The shelters usually only see about 800 migrants per day, according to Ferguson.
Staff expects to be even busier with the influx of asylum seekers from all over the world arriving, like Jean.
“They have big discrimination in Turkey, since they are Kurdish. They say for no reason you might get beaten by police or by racist groups in Turkey," he said.
He arrived at the San Diego border five days ago.
Before arriving at the shelter, he said he spent four days in border patrol custody with dozens of people.
“Some of them are very dirty. They are very unhealthy. Everybody was together and it was very hard for them. That’s what he said. He said it's easy to get sick there," he described.
As for what’s next for Jean, he says he'll work if he gets a job or will rely on his sponsor and family back home to support him until his court date.
He said his court date is January 9, 2025.
