Sickness has started setting in at a big migrant camp in Tijuana, Mexico, as Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum declared a humanitarian crisis and asked for federal and international assistance for the more than 6,000 Central Americans who have poured into the region in recent weeks.

At the Benito Juarez shelter in north Tijuana, more than 4,700 migrants are in tents and under blankets that fill surrounding streets.

Inside the shelter, Paula Cortes, 21, and her family huddled around a 2-year-old baby Isaac, who lay feverish, listless and covered with blankets.

“He’s very, very sick,” his mother said in Spanish. “I’m too worried right now but they won’t send a doctor in here. They told us to take him outside to the medical tent.”

A shelter aid worker confirmed the only option for the young parents is to bring him to a medical tent set up outside Benito Juarez to deal with minor medical ailments.

The government of Baja California reported Friday that 818 respiratory infections had been reported at the camp. The government said 1,286 general medical consultations were provided to members of the migrant caravan.

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Gastelum declared a humanitarian crisis Thursday, asking for more federal assistance and for international groups like the United Nations to help with the crush of people.

“They have categorically omitted and not complied with their legal obligations,” the mayor said of the Mexican federal government. “So, we’re now asking them and international humanitarian aid groups to bring in and carry out humanitarian assistance.”

International aid workers were making their way through the streets surrounding Benito Juarez, checking on those camped out Friday afternoon.

President Trump has threatened to close the border if Mexico “cannot control the situation.” Pressing for more Mexican federal assistance, Gastelum stressed the negative effects on Tijuana’s economy should the border completely close for days.


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