For 30 years, the International Community Foundation (ICF) has served an important role as a philanthropic leader in the San Diego/Tijuana border region. In November of 2018, more than 5,000 Central American migrants arrived in the border city of Tijuana, marking the beginning of an ongoing humanitarian and human rights challenge.
The lack of infrastructure needed to shelter such a large group of people led to public health concerns, as weather conditions worsened and cases of illness among children were confirmed by binational health officials. This is the situation that thousands of people found themselves in, fleeing violence or persecution and running out of resources before securing a chance at asylum.