America kicks out illegal migrants

Mexican border cities are combating an influx of migrants dumped on their streets after being deported by the U.S. government, which has been kicking out illegal migrants at record levels.

Photo: America kicks out illegal migrants

Many of those deported have spent decades working at restaurants, offices and in the fields from California to North Carolina.

Some return to Mexico virtually penniless after spending their savings on lawyers fees to fight their deportation orders and wind up living on the tough, crime-ridden streets of border cities like Tijuana, across from San Diego, California, where they must fend off corrupt police, gangs and thieves, migrant groups say.

They survive by washing car windows or doing other odd jobs or by simply begging, and many sleep on a river levee in Tijuana, where humanitarian volunteers bring them food and water.

Since 2004 the government has been deporting more than 1 million illegal migrants each year.