A little over a month ago, the small California community of Jacumba, on the U.S.-Mexico border, was a scene of chaos.
Hundreds — sometimes as many as a thousand — migrants, including children, were stuck in open-air camps for hours and even days on end to await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They had little access to water, food, shelter or even bathrooms. Local townspeople told NPR they felt overwhelmed.
