SOMERTON, Ariz. (KAWC) - Recently KAWC News got the opportunity to step inside the process asylum seekers go through once they're released from Border Patrol custody and are free to travel to their final destination inside the United States.
It's a complicated process, but the Regional Center for Border Health has systems in place for making it quite efficient, and as a result, surprisingly quickly.
RCBH Community Liaison Alex Bejerano led us through the steps immigrants take before they can step onto a bus, or board a plane.
Our tour began on one such bus filled with asylum seekers from all over the world. We were asked not to speak to them, or to take their photographs out of respect for their privacy. However, we were invited to follow the steps they had taken just a short time before.
Please click the listen button above to join us as we walk through the process.