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By Annie Rose Ramos and Gabe Gutierrez
TIJUANA, Mexico – Between two busy motorways, four rows of colorful tents have sprung up in a park to house the clutter of migrants who have dumped themselves in shelters and on the streets.
The Mexican government and local organizations this week opened several makeshift shelters in Tijuana for the first wave of migrants arriving from Central America in an attempt to seek asylum in the United States.
According to the Mexican authorities, more than 3,000 migrants, who have traveled to this border town mainly on foot, are spread throughout Tijuana. 7,000 others are not far behind.
The tents of Mapa Park were given to families by the organizers of a nearby refuge, Juventud 2000, once it has reached its maximum capacity. They have nowhere else to send people, because all the other shelters are also full.
Down the street, the authorities opened the Benito Juarez Sports Center for migrants, who camp on the baseball field and a concrete playground. Families have set up tents on any parcel of land available.
But the tents quickly ran out. Today, families use branches, garbage bags and donated clothes to build makeshift shelters – anything that prevents them from exposing themselves to the elements.
"It's too cold here," said a boy on Saturday, rummaging through a pile of donated clothes, looking for a sweater.
Yeseniq Mejia, 30, pregnant for seven months, lives in one of the largest tents of Benito Juarez. She made the exhausting journey of San Pedro Sula, where the first caravan started in Honduras, with her two sons and her husband.
Mejia was trying to decide to stay in Mexico or to seek asylum in the United States. She says that she feared to be separated from her children.
"They could even keep my baby," Mejia says, holding her stomach.
The Trump administration has ended its "zero tolerance" policy that separated migrant children from their families several months ago, but recently announced stricter requirements for asylum applications.
Although Mejia and other migrants may be closer to the United States than ever before, it can take weeks or even months to process the request.
The mayor of Tijuana described the migrants as "avalanche" and the city is preparing for an influx that can last at least six months.
For the majority of caravan migrants, the next step is to seek asylum at the port of entry of San Ysidro. However, a customs officer and border protection official told NBC News that their ability to admit asylum seekers fluctuated daily.
A Honduran queuing at the port of entry said border agents had only welcomed nine people on Saturday.
"And then the CBP told everyone to leave," said the man, who did not want to give his name.
"We'll be back tomorrow," he added, standing next to his wife and holding his daughter.
For Mejia, the pregnant woman, uncertainty is looming.
"We could be here for weeks," she says, folding a blanket that she will use tonight as a pillow. "We will have to see how all this will happen in our trip."
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