Asylum-seekers begin arriving in Riverside County after pandemic-related restrictions expire

MURRIETA, Calif. (KABC) -- Following the expiration of Title 42, border officials braced for a potential increase in migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Riverside County is no different.

Asylum-seekers who enter through various ports of entry are processed at border patrol facilities like one in Murrieta. Workers there are expecting to see that influx -- placing a strain on the already-taxed immigration system.

A bus carrying dozens of asylum seekers arrived at the facility Friday. From there, the migrants are processed before being picked up by Riverside County officials and taken to hotels throughout the area.

But they won't be in the county for long - at least in theory.

"On average, it's been 1-3 days. While they're here, we provide feeding, we provide health screenings... if they need any kind of behavioral health or mental health services," said Shane Reichardt with the Riverside County Emergency Management Department.

Title 42 has expired. Here's what happens next

Alejandro Mayorkas details what is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border and if the U.S. side can handle the expected migrant surge.

He says they also line the migrants up with their asylum sponsors, who typically live in other parts of the county and who pay for the migrants to get there.

But with the process taking up to three days, and at least 200 people a day coming into the system right now - and only 300 beds available - resources are being stretched thin.

Reichardt said the county hopes to be able to continue assisting the asylum-seekers "but we're going to reach a breaking point."

As pandemic-era asylum restrictions ended early Friday, migrants in northern Mexico faced more uncertainties about a new online system for appointments to seek asylum in the U.S.

"We have a finite number of resources, a finite number of staff members, a finite number of beds to provide services to immigrants seeking asylum, and so at some point we may reach capacity," said Brooke Federico, public information officer for Riverside County.

When that happens, Federico says the border patrol could decide to start dropping asylum-seekers off on the side of the road. It's something that happened twice last year when the system hit capacity. Border patrol released migrants into the Coachella Valley with no help, few resources and no supervision.

"The decision to do drop-offs, where to do drop-offs, the number of drop-offs - all of those decisions are made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That's not a decision that's made at the local level," she added.

This process only applies to asylum-seekers entering through ports of entry and does not apply to those who enter illegally. Border Patrol says that number is close to 10,000 people a day this week alone.