TIJUANA, Mexico — Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees arriving daily in Tijuana have resorted to sleeping in school gymnasiums as they flee the horror of war unfolding in their homeland.
New images from Deportivo Benito Juarez shelter show mothers arriving with their children in hopes of finding safety across the ocean.
Women who have traveled far and wide are seen doing what they can to keep their children occupied and entertained with toys and donated items. They temporarily set up camp at a local gymnasium that has been converted into a temporary housing shelter.
In most cases, they have had to leave their husbands and sons back home.
Most Ukrainian refugees are hoping to make their way from Mexico into the US in the coming days, typically through Tijuana to El Chaparral border crossing into California.
Last week, thousands of refugees arrived in Texas after making their way from their homeland to the Netherlands before flying to Mexico.
Ukrainian refugees set up camp at a local gymnasium that has been converted into a temporary housing shelter. James Keivom
Mothers arrived with their children in hopes of finding safety. James Keivom
In most cases, husbands and adult sons were left back in Ukraine. James Keivom“They’ll drive [in] by taxi all the way up to the bridge, and they’ll say, ‘We’re pleading asylum,'” said the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Laredo, Rebecca Solloa. “[Customs agents] will take them down from the car and move them forward.”
Many who arrive in Mexico are seeking to be reunited with Ukrainian relatives already living in the United States.
The shelter counts are unofficial and the true numbers of those crossing the border are probably higher than reported since many Ukrainian asylum-seekers bypass immigrant shelters completely when they arrive.
Many refugees who arrive in Mexico are seeking to be reunited with Ukrainian relatives already living in the US. James Keivom
Mothers keep their children occupied and entertained with toys and donated items. James KeivomThe Biden administration announced last month that it would welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees displaced by the war.
The promise to accept migrants does not extend to Russians, Mexicans, and other South and Central American migrants who also remain encamped in Mexico.
A caravan of volunteers from Orange County, California, was also in the city to offer humanitarian aid and said the migrants were showing up on the West Coast border after being turned away elsewhere.
Ukrainians seeking asylum in the United States sing during a service in the Deportivo Benito Juarez shelter. James Keivom
A Ukrainian child seeking asylum in the United States pets a dog outside the Deportivo Benito Juarez shelter. James KeivomThe Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests by The Post for information on the number of Ukrainian refugees.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that more than 10,000 Ukrainians had visited Mexico as tourists in the first two months of this year, and officials believe most of that number will eventually head to the US.
