A driver makes a food delivery at the US-Mexican border on May 10.
Guillermo Arias/Getty Images
Title 42, a public health rule imposed by the Trump administration in March 2020, ended on May 12.
Hundreds of people are now trying to enter the US at the San Diego-Tijuana crossing point.
Some have resorted to placing food delivery orders to eat, Rest of World reported.
Drivers are delivering food orders through gaps in the wall to migrants on the Mexico border after Title 42 lapsed, Rest of World reported.
The public health rule imposed by the Trump administration in March 2020 allowed the US to turn back asylum seekers at border crossings.
The measure lapsed on May 12 and hundreds of people from countries including Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti have flocked to the border believing it was now easier to enter the US. The White House has said it was accepting applications for asylum, but only in limited numbers.
Rest of World, a nonprofit tech publication, spoke to some migrants at the Tijuana-San Diego border who said US authorities gave them water and energy bars but it was not enough food to sustain them while their applications were processed.
Some have resorted to ordering food on apps such as Uber Eats, paying in cash because most don’t have credit cards. One woman told Rest of World she paid $100 for a whole chicken because the Uber Eats driver didn’t have change.
They’ve also used Rappi, a delivery service that operates in Latin America as well as the US.
Jesús Vargas, a delivery driver based in Tijuana, told Rest of World he’s delivered Taiwanese food to some migrants. “They’re in a really tough spot, but it’s what they have to do to survive,” he said.
Trying to cross the US-Mexican border can be dangerous, and in January the government added another “digital wall” requiring migrants to use the Customs and Border Protection app.
Immigration advocates previously told Insider that migrants who failed to use the app were being penalized.
However, keeping cellphones charged was a problem for many, according to Rest of World reported. Border patrol agents were stopping volunteers on the US side of the border from providing charging stations, per the outlet.
The introduction of Title 42 slashed the number of people trying to cross into the US, according to the Pew Research Center. The total has since risen sharply, per Customs and Border Protection figures.
Once migrants are between the walls of the two borders, it’s unclear how long they might have to wait there. Some told The San Diego Union-Tribune they’d waited as long as seven days without food or shelter.
The White House and Uber Eats did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside regular working hours.
Are you a delivery driver in the area or have some insight to share? Contact this reporter at stabahriti@insider.com or on Twitter DM.