Three buses holding 140 undocumented who were being taken to Murrieta Tuesday afternoon were greeted by angry protesters and turned away from its intended destination.
The immigrants were supposed to be transported from a Texas Border Patrol Station to the Murrieta Border Patrol Station, according to Murrieta Mayor Alan Long.
Upon arrival the buses turned around for unknown reasons and drove to the Chula Vista border patrol facility in San Diego County.
Authorities planned to bring the immigrants to Murrieta later Tuesday night, KSWB stated.
About 100 protesters held signs stating “return to sender,” “STOP illegal immigration” and “support U.S. Border Patrol” during the immigrants arrival.
Initial plans to transport 500 undocumented immigrants to the city were lowered, but Long said Murrieta may receive an additional 140 immigrants every 72 hours for several weeks.
“This is a significant impact to our resources, but is well within the capacity of what we have here regionally,” he said.
Long blamed failures of the federal government for the situation.
The majority of the immigrants were expected to be families, mothers and children, Long said.
The border station planned to process 25 immigrants per eight-hour shift.
Once processed, it would be the responsibility of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to make sure they arrived at their mode transportation and end destination, Long said.
The possible modes of transportation and end destinations expected were not specified during the press conference.