YUMA, Ariz. — The illegal immigrants had been waiting by the gap in the border wall by Morelos Dam all day on Wednesday. No Border Patrol transportation, or even an agent in a pickup truck, had come by to take them away, so they decided to walk to the Border Patrol station about 9 miles into town.
The group of around 100 walked into Yuma's city limits, passing by neighborhoods, with some making a quick pit stop at a local McDonald's. Frank, a local contractor, pulled over on his way to dinner to talk with me in astonishment, saying he had never seen something like this in Yuma before.
"How did they get past Border Patrol?" he asked.
"Because there is no Border Patrol over there," I replied.
Some of the illegal immigrants were given rides by local residents or taxis and dropped off at Border Patrol's Yuma Sector Headquarters. Others completed their journey by walking the whole way. Once at the station, they walked up to a gate and banged on it to let the agents know they were outside. Agents would come out and let them in to be processed.
Group of illegal immigrants got tired of waiting for Border Patrol and left the area by the border wall to go to the BP station. The group is now within Yuma’s city limits. Never seen this happen before. pic.twitter.com/yq6pFPT1JC
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) December 9, 2021
Some of group have made it to Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector Headquarters to turn themselves in. pic.twitter.com/zApMn1zJCX
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) December 9, 2021
This scene in Yuma on Wednesday was the result of Border Patrol being unable to patrol the border because most of the sector's agents were processing more than 3,000 illegal immigrants who were already in custody, meaning they were unable to intake the hundreds of other illegal immigrants who crossed that morning, resulting in them waiting for hours to be picked up.
Because people have waited for hours for Border Patrol to pick them up, they’re making tents out of blankets. Cocopah police are watching them. Lots of small children are here. pic.twitter.com/evRnfp7qRp
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) December 8, 2021
Border Patrol had transport vans near the U.S.-Mexico border, but a source explained to me they were told not to pick people up unless told to by their supervisors. I saw one transport van sitting in between two popular crossing points along a levee road but did not go to pick anyone up. The same source said Border Patrol told local law enforcement they would be relying on them to do actual patrolling along the border since they didn't have the manpower to do it.
The large influx of people crossing into Yuma has presented a challenge to local farmers, whose fields sit right behind the levee and the now-incomplete border wall system.
Alex Muller, the chief operations officer for Pasquinelli Produce, told me there are E. coli concerns because illegal immigrants walk through their fields of leafy greens and relieve themselves in the fields or along the roads.
"They're taking baths in the irrigation canals. If we had auditors drive here, we'd lose a lot of money," Muller said. "I'm blown away [by the groups]. There's little kids, pregnant ladies, I don't know what the plan was."
A group of Haitians had been waiting by one of Pasquinelli Produce's fields all day for Border Patrol to pick them up only to leave to look for the police.
"It's very easy for our government to fix [the crisis]. You know where they're crossing, it's very easy to shut it down. It's become very political right now. It seems like the powers that be want it to be political, I don't know, but it would be very easy for them to solve this," Muller added.