San Diego migrant processing center 'dismantled' after massive decrease in illegal crossings: Border Patrol

The US Border Patrol announced Sunday that the San Diego migrant processing center has been "dismantled," citing a massive decrease in illegal crossings since President Trump reentered the White House in January. According to the federal agency, the average daily arrests in the San Diego Sector for the month of March decreased by 186 percent compared to the year prior. As a result, the 1,000-person taxpayer-funded facility is no longer needed, the agency said.

Officials attributed the decrease in unlawful crossings to new enforcement measures enacted by the Trump administration, which have included deploying US troops to the southern border and authorizing Border Patrol personnel to enforce the nation's immigration laws, something that was prohibited under the Biden administration. The data comes from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"Due to the unprecedented decrease in illegal crossings this year, the massive 1,000 person, San Diego Sector Soft Sided Facility has been dismantled. In 3/2025, San Diego Sector arrested 1,199 illegal aliens with an average of 38 per day. This was a 186% drop compared to 3/2024." said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Stalnaker in a post on X.

The White House released a fact sheet about the matter, saying, "The increased border enforcement is accompanied by the Trump Administration's efforts to arrest criminal illegal immigrants throughout the nation." The memo also included the names of "a few of the sick criminal illegal immigrants" who were recently arrested in the San Diego Sector:
 

• Kevin Estuarde Hernandez, 18, of Guatemala - "a suspected 18th Street Gang Member who was involved in a shooting between his gang and MS-13."
• Jose Antonio Deras, 45, of El Salvador - who "has pending charges for four felony counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse. A judge ordered him removed from the country in 2009."
• Eduardo Sanchez-Hernandez, 32, of Mexico - who has "pending charges for sexual assault of a minor under 13-years-old."
• Litzy Janel Saavedra, 26, of Mexico - convicted "for third-degree felony rape."
• Carlos Torres Valdovinos, 46, of Mexico - convicted "for felony oral copulation of a child."
• Jose Barrios-Bello, 35, of Mexico - convicted "for distribution of meth and has previously been removed from the country."
• Misael Delgado-Carlos, 35, of Mexico - convicted of "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and has previously been removed from the country."

The closure of the facility comes just a few months after former President Biden and his administration left the White House. Critics of the Biden admin's open-border policies have since praised President Trump's immigration enforcement successes, stating that all the US needed was "a new president."