Ukrainian refugees cross from Mexico into SoCal as Biden welcomes 100,000

President Biden says the U.S. will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Dozens of Ukrainian nationals and refugees are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Southern California. At the Tijuana checkpoint, they're seen with suitcases, strollers and Ukrainian passports in hand.

Fleeing their war-torn country, they seek safety in the United States. A trip to the northern tip of Mexico is more than 6,000 miles away from home.

Palm Springs immigration attorney Karen Kler is helping a handful of Ukrainian refugees pro-bono right now. He said it's a difficult road for them to get here.

"It's a matter of crisis. You've got everybody leaving," Kler said. "When they're crossing over to Mexico, they're losing most of their personal belongings because a lot of nationals in Mexico are taking advantage of them. And that's really sad. So by the time they come to the US borders, they have nothing."

Often in need of financial assistance and a place to stay, the refugees must wait for their cases to be processed. It can take anywhere from 3 months up to 2 years, Kler said.

A Department of Homeland Security memo dated March 11 instructs border patrol officers to consider exempting Ukrainians from Title 42, a Trump administration policy that can expel migrants because of the pandemic.

"We can come together to take care of them. I do not want to see us, as Americans, disliking the refugees coming in because they're bringing in COVID," Kler said.

Congressman Raul Ruiz is calling on the president to increase the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the U.S.

"It is absolutely necessary that we do our part in leading other nations in accepting refugees quickly," Ruiz said.

In a statement, Ruiz thanked Biden for heeding his call.

Ruiz urged anyone who needs help with refugees to call his office.

In the past few weeks, there have been 23 Ukrainian refugees that crossed from Mexico and were processed and released into Riverside County, according to officials with the county's Department of Emergency Management.

But county officials are told by Border Patrol officials none of those refugees are related to the current crisis with Russia.

The county gets them Covid tested and works with non-profits to get them to their final destinations, which officials said are often on the east coast.