Hundreds Of Ukrainian Refugees Camping In Tijuana, Mexico: Hoping To Enter The United States And Get Asylum

Ukrainian refugees rest in the ticket hall of the Przemysl Glowny train station, Poland, after escaping from a Russian attack in Ukraine, Saturday (26/3/2022). (ANTARA/REUTERS/Hannah McKay)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Ukrainians have camped in Tijuana, a border town in Mexico in hopes of obtaining asylum in the United States.

The wave of arrivals comes days after President Joe Biden's administration said the United States would take in up to 100,000 Ukrainians displaced by the war.

Many Ukrainians, who escaped the Russian invasion of their homeland, departed by plane for the US-Mexico border.

They hope that officials will allow them to enter the United States so that they can be reunited with their relatives or friends in the country.

People rest on blankets or sit on park benches. Large suitcases were seen strewn beside them on a patch of grass near the entrance to the international airport.

Some of them slept in tents and under tarpaulins.

Volunteers from the US wrote names on a waiting list to keep track of the number of people who came.

The volunteers were Ukrainian-Americans who left for Tijuana after hearing the news that refugees were arriving.

About 600 Ukrainians are camped near the border area and about 500 are staying in the city's hotels, said Enrique Lucero, Tijuana's director of migration affairs, citing data from volunteers.

About 40 percent of the Ukrainian refugee group are children, Lucero added.

Lucero said every day 100 Ukrainians are allowed to cross into the United States.

The US Customs and Border Guard said the number of Ukrainians entering the US in March would only be known in the coming weeks.

The number of people on the southwest border is small compared to the 3.8 million Ukrainians who have flown to nearby countries in Europe since the February 24 invasion.