Inhumane Treatment of Asylum Seekers at Unofficial Camps in San Diego

Thousands of migrants and people seeking asylum have been held in open-air detention sites (OADS) near the US-Mexico border in San Diego, where they are exposed to harsh conditions without adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, and basic necessities. Nonprofit organizations and volunteers provide limited support, but Customs and Border Protection (CBP) fails to meet its own standards for the treatment of migrants in custody. The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) has made recommendations for CBP to process migrants in a humane manner, for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a comprehensive response, for Congress to increase investment in aid organizations, and for the Biden administration to rescind the asylum ban and expand asylum processing capacity.