By Rebecca Person

Photos by R. Person and Noah Miller

October 10, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- What began as a trickle of migrant activity at the Mexican border outside small towns in the farthest corner of east San Diego County has surged to a humanitarian crisis - a river, a deluge of hundreds of border crossings here daily. The scene has mirrored and surpassed the crisis last May, when the towns of Jacumba Hot Springs and Boulevard felt a sudden wave of migrants when Title 42 was lifted and Title 8 returned.

Those changes allowed migrants to apply for asylum.  But for those not able to qualify for asylum, crossing the border can lead to formal deportation back to one’s country of origin and possible criminal prosecution if the person makes a second entry within five years. 

Humanitarian groups such as Border Kindness have joined local resident volunteers and some church groups to bring a steady supply of donations - bottled water, blankets, jackets and tarps to migrants camped along the border fence. Also sandwiches, especially the peanut butter kind.