Asylum requests are a constant in the San Ysidro-Tijuana Point of Entry, but it had been 16 years since over 200 of them were made in less than a week, according to data from The College of the Northern Border (Colef) in Tijuana.
Jacob J. Sapochnick is a migration lawyer in San Diego.
Sapochnick said that everyone has the right to make an asylum request, but there's no guarantee of getting a favorable, or any, response at all. "When you come to the border, you can ask for asylum. You surrender yourself Tijuana's border is one of the biggest ones, people surrender themselves, and then they go through a process of qualification for asylum. They will interview them to see if they have a fear of return. These natives from Africa traveled many, many weeks." The lawyer said that after being granted asylum, migrants have up to 4 years to request their Green Card and become full citizens of the U.S.
He continued to say that those with a better chance to get their asylum requests granted where Central and South Americans, depending on their story, including their social and economic reasons to flee their country. "They travel through South America, from Peru, from Ecuador, all the way to Tijuana, because they know that if they come to the border then they can seek asylum, and that the U.S. government gives everyone a chance to pass an interview. If they pass the interview, they will be able to be released into the United States; they'll get a work permit, and they'll wait for the asylum hearing. If they don't pass it, they will be deported to their country of origin." Sais the specialist in migratory law at San Diego.
