Some Migrants to Be Processed, Released in Riverside County

The migrants are expected to arrive to Southern California by noon Tuesday, Border Patrol officials said. The second wave was expected to arrive Friday

Hundreds of Central American migrants are on their way to Southern California from Texas, and some will be processed and released in Riverside County, Border Patrol officials said Saturday.

The undocumented immigrants are being bused in from overwhelmed facilities in South Texas as part of a plan to ease the workload on agents at the nation's busiest corridor for illegal crossings.

The migrants are expected to arrive to Southern California by noon Tuesday, Border Patrol officials said. The second wave is expected to arrive Friday.

Some of the migrants will be processed at the Border Patrol station in Murrieta and other in the San Diego area.

The Border Patrol said some families and children will be released while they wait for an immigration hearing.

The plan to move the detained migrants from Texas to California was set back in motion after officials scrapped it last weekend. When news of the prospective transfer broke last week, Border Patrol officials soon backed off their plan after swift public push back.

But Friday, CBP's Media Division Director Michael Friel announced the transfer had been reinstated. However, he did not include a timeline, the number of migrants coming to California or where they will be placed.

Once they have arrived, agents will process the apprehended families for removal and turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, who will decide on a case-by-case basis if they will remain in custody, be deported or be released.

Friel's statement said transfers between Border Patrol sectors happen regularly to help the CBP manage its processing flow.

Border Patrol agents have seen an overwhelming influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

Since Oct. 1, agents have arrested more than 174,000 migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, The Associated Press reported.

The federal agency is also searching for places to board about 50,000 unaccompanied minors who have inundated the border. As many as 700 of those children were apprehended by San Diego Border Patrol agents.

In response to that crisis, the federal government has launched a coordination group to leverage resources in the Departments of Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, State and the General Services Administration.

NBC7's Andie Adams contributed to this report.

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