The flow of refugees from Ukraine increases at the U.S.-Mexico border

The number of Ukrainian citizens staying in the U.S. increased dramatically a few days after the White House administration announced its readiness to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians in the country.

Many Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion flew to Mexico and headed to the U.S. border in the hope that the authorities would allow them to be reunited with American relatives or friends.

People are setting up on blankets, folding chairs, and some are camping near the U.S. border entry point. American volunteers-including Americans of Ukrainian descent who came to Tijuana-compile lists of those arriving. On average, the time it takes to cross the U.S. border from the time they are listed is about one day.

At the moment, about 600 Ukrainians live in the border camp, about 500 more are staying in hotels in the city of Tijuana, said Enrique Lucero, a spokesman for the city administration, citing data from volunteers. According to him, about 40% of the arrivals are children. Approximately 100 Ukrainians are permitted to enter the United States each day.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said data on the number of Ukrainians entering the United States in March will be published in the coming weeks. The number of Ukrainians arriving in the U.S. is relatively small compared to the 3.8 million Ukrainians admitted by European countries.

Europe has called the Ukrainian refugee situation the largest humanitarian crisis in the region since World War II.