A woman from one of the Border Patrol's makeshift open-air migrant camps in San Ysidro died Wednesday.
The Border Patrol have been holding migrants in open air camps in Jacumba and San Ysidro since September. Humanitarian workers have said death was inevitable at some point given the horrible conditions at the camps.
Wednesday was the first time U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) documented a death linked to one of the camps.
“We’re just profoundly saddened to learn that what we feared has now happened,” said Nina Douglass, a migrant advocate working at the San Ysidro camp. “We’ve known it was a matter of time before someone died.”
CBP confirmed the woman’s death in a statement:
“On October 11, 2023, at approximately 5:45 a.m., Border Patrol agents were approached by an individual in medical distress approximately one mile west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry,” the statement said. “Shortly thereafter, the person experienced a medical emergency and was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital by local emergency medical services where they passed away.”
CBP would not provide the woman’s name or a cause of death, but said its Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident.
Advocates said the woman was from the West African country of Guinea and traveled with relatives.
“She and her family members went so far to get here and I’m sure they suffered a lot to get this far for her to die,” Douglass said. “Trust that the people present did their best, I need to believe that, but that’s not good enough.”
It’s common for migrants in the makeshift camps to have serious medical problems, advocates told KPBS.
In the last month, volunteers have treated diabetics without prescriptions, people with cardiac conditions, open gashes and pregnant women with abdominal pain.
The makeshift camp is situated between two border walls west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. It was first opened Fall 2022 and then reopened in September. Advocates have set up a food pantry, cell phone charging station, mini pharmacy and first aid center.
“We are providing water, we provide food, we provide clothing, we provide blankets, we provide hygienic products,” said Flower Alvarez Lopez, a volunteer with the group Universidad Popular.
Some migrants are reluctant to seek medical attention because it could result in family separation, she added.
That’s what happened earlier this week when a Russian woman who was seven months into her pregnancy began experiencing abdominal pain, Alvarez Lopez said.
The woman was with her husband and two children but only one of them could go to the ambulance with her.
“So she had to pick which one of her children she would be going to the hospital with,” she said.
Ongoing exposure to the dire experiences of the migrants is impacting the mental health of advocates. Many are experiencing second-hand trauma, Alvarez Lopez said.
“The burnout is real and it’s unsustainable,” she said.
Immigrant rights organizations are currently seeking more volunteers and donations.
It’s unclear why, but CBP personnel cleared the makeshift camp Thursday morning. By the afternoon, all that was left were abandoned toys, sneakers, blankets and trash.
