Bay Area agencies are busy helping several South American migrants who arrived in El Paso, Texas, only to end up being dropped in San Jose last Saturday.
It marks the most recent incident involving undocumented migrants being bused or flown to other states, often at the direction of political leaders looking to make a point about immigration policy.
The group of 12 migrants – seven adults and five children – were put on a bus in El Paso last weekend. At the end of the trip, they ended up abandoned in a San Jose neighborhood.
Two of them, who NBC Bay Area is identifying as Andrea and Camila to protect their identities, said, through a translator, they’re still baffled about how they ended up in the South Bay.
"They brought us all the way over here and then dumped us," Andrea said. "They didn’t give us any help or anything. They just boarded us on a bus and told us, ‘Go, like the children of God.’”
The migrants said they came from Venezuela and Ecuador, adding that they stuck together to survive three days on San Jose streets before people noticed and alerted Santa Clara County agencies, which put them up in hotels.
"Basically we have all become united like a family," Camilla said. "We aren’t actually family, but we feel like a family because we all came supporting each other through the fight."
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As of Friday, the county agencies were still trying to figure out who was behind the move, but they said they're also working together for the migrants.
"To ensure that the folks are connected to the vital services that they need upon arrival," said Aundraya Martinez with the Office of Immigrant Relations. "This is part of a larger strategy of planning for this type of situation."
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The situation is one San Jose and Santa Clara County have not had to deal with until now, but officials said they anticipate seeing it more.
