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By Rebecca Person
Photo, left: John Schultz and Rebecca Person
May 14, 2023 (Jacumba Hot Springs) - Humanitarian actions are in full swing in the high desert commmunity of Jacumba Hot Springs and neighboring In Ko Pah Park at the far eastern end of San Diego County.
Small family and humanitarian groups responded Friday and Saturday to get water, food, blankets and other essentials to hundreds of stranded migrants who have crossed the border fencing and whose dreams of having a more prosperous life in California languish amid frigid nights and daytime wind and sun in these stark high desert areas.
A plea has gone out to local communities in Imperial and East San Diego counties and donations are being sorted by volunteers.
Local resident John Schultz related, “People just crossed the border and set up camp near my house seeking refugee status. I met people from Colombia, Turkey, Brazil, Haiti and Mexico.” Another local reported being asked for cigarettes by migrants who said they had money to buy them.
Photo, right, via We Are Human KindSchultz and his other family members made efforts to reach the American Red Cross and were told the Red Cross would not respond unless the overwhelmed Border Patrol made an official request. So the family did their best to bring immediate food, water and provide shade for as many as they could.
Reports are also coming in from residents of the neighboring towns of Boulevard and Live Oak Springs - hundreds of migrants have been seen on the main highway and its off roads there.
Meanwhile, We Are Human Kind, a non-profit whose members live and work in Jacumba, set up their donation station at an old car wash building on Old Highway 80 there. A spokesperson for the group posted: “There are over close to 2000 refugees here in Jacumba. They are camped out in the dirt and bushes seeking shelter and food. There are several families with infants and toddlers. We are doing our best but Jacumba is not on anyone’s radar and we are asking for help."
Border Patrol is aware of the migrants but has not provided food or shelter for them, ECM has learned.
Human Kind Studio posted on social media, calling the treatment of th migrants "crimes against humanity."
They are seeking donations of blankets, shelter, water, tarps, food and hygiene articles and can accept monetary aid via Venmo account @wearehumankind.
Update May 17, 2023: Organizers of the donation drive based out of the Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel now advise that Border Patrol has dispatched busses to pick up the immigrants in Jacumba Hot Springs, so donations are no longer sought.
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