Tijuana’s municipal government opened a free legal assistance program on Monday for migrant families and unaccompanied minors, offering immigration consultations, family reunification support, and guidance on asylum claims. The program operates out of the city’s migrant services office on Boulevard Agua Caliente and will run through at least December 2025.
Tijuana Hosts Over 50,000 Migrants Awaiting U.S. Processing
The new program arrives as Tijuana continues to serve as the largest staging point for migrants seeking entry to the United States. According to municipal estimates, more than 50,000 migrants were living in the city’s shelters and informal settlements as of early 2025. That figure has fluctuated since the pandemic-era Title 42 policy ended in May 2023, but Tijuana’s migrant population has remained elevated as U.S. asylum processing backlogs stretch into years.
Tijuana operates roughly 30 shelters, most run by religious organizations and nonprofits. The city’s own Dirección Municipal de Atención al Migrante, the municipal office for migrant services, has historically focused on temporary aid: meals, blankets, and referrals. Legal services represent a shift toward longer-term support.
The program will be staffed by attorneys from the Colegio de Abogados de Tijuana, the city’s bar association, along with law students from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). Sessions will be available in Spanish and Haitian Creole, reflecting the large Haitian community that has settled in Tijuana since 2016. English-language consultations will also be offered on a limited basis.
Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz announced the initiative at a Monday press conference, calling it a response to rising demand for legal guidance among families separated by shifting U.S. immigration enforcement. He said the city allocated 2.8 million pesos (roughly $155,000 USD) for the program’s first six months of operation.
U.S. Policy Shifts in 2025 Increased Demand for Legal Guidance
The timing corresponds with significant changes in U.S. immigration enforcement. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has expanded expedited removal proceedings and ended the CBP One app’s appointment system, which had allowed migrants in Tijuana to schedule asylum interviews at ports of entry. That app processed an estimated 1,400 daily appointments along the entire U.S.-Mexico border before it was shut down.
Without CBP One, migrants in Tijuana face a more opaque process for presenting asylum claims. Many do not understand their legal options or the differences between asylum, humanitarian parole, and withholding of removal. The free legal program aims to fill that gap with one-on-one consultations.
Unaccompanied minors represent a particular focus. Mexico’s DIF (Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia), the national family services agency, reported 4,200 unaccompanied minors in Baja California during 2024. Many of these children arrive from Central America, Haiti, and increasingly from Venezuela and Ecuador. The new program will coordinate with DIF to ensure minors receive age-appropriate legal guidance and, where possible, family reunification assistance.
The program also addresses a practical need among Haitian migrants who have chosen to settle permanently in Tijuana. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Haitians now live in the city, concentrated in the Zona Este neighborhoods. Many hold humanitarian visas issued by Mexico’s INM (Instituto Nacional de Migración, Mexico’s immigration authority) but need help navigating renewals, work permits, and permanent residency applications. The legal clinic will dedicate Thursday sessions specifically to residency documentation issues.
Legal Aid Available Weekdays on Boulevard Agua Caliente
The program operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the migrant services office located at Boulevard Agua Caliente 1099, near the Zona Río commercial district. No appointment is required, though the city recommends arriving before 10 a.m. to secure a same-day consultation. Each session lasts approximately 30 minutes.
Residents with foreign-born household workers, tenants, or neighbors who might benefit from the program can direct them to the office or call the city’s migrant services hotline at 664-973-7000, extension 2501.
The city plans to evaluate the program in September 2025 to determine whether to expand staffing or extend operating hours. A second location in the Zona Este, closer to the Haitian community, is under consideration for early 2026. The announcement was first reported by Frontera, a Tijuana daily newspaper.