The coastal region of Southern California is grappling with illegal immigration and natural disasters at the Mexico border, and local and state officials are pleading for help.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said on Monday that more than 11,000 immigrants who illegally crossed the border and were arrested have been released onto the street by border officials in the past two weeks.

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"There seems to be no end in sight to this escalating crisis, and it's a stark reminder that we cannot have a country without a secure and well-managed border," Desmond wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Desmond said nonprofit groups and charities that normally help homeless people have been pulled from that mission to help immigrants make travel arrangements when dropped off at the bus station in Oceanside.

At the same time, the north-flowing Tijuana River in Mexico has gone unchecked for decades, dumping toxic chemicals including uranium over the border into California land and its beaches, not far from where immigrants cross in the Otay Mesa mountains nearby. Residents and elected officials have focused on the raw sewage aspect of the water, but a Border Patrol-commissioned report in 2019 found more than 40 chemicals were present in the dried-up dirt and water in the river's path.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioned a six-month study, published in 2021. Forty-two samples taken from the Tijuana River during dry, wet, post-rain, and standing water conditions contained 710 times more arsenic, five times more lead, seven times more uranium, and 1,135 times more hexavalent chromium than local tap water. In addition, high levels of dozens of other chemicals were identified by the study.

Justin Castrejon, a Border Patrol agent and regional spokesman, said the report validated the claims of agents who have complained of physical health ailments after patrolling the affected areas.

The river has gained more attention recently as the flows into U.S. land and water have increased and 18 mayors in the San Diego area sent a joint letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) late last month ordering him to sign on at the state level to the county's emergency declarations. The state has denied the region's request for help.

More than 100 billion gallons of toxic chemicals and untreated sewage have flown into the U.S. by way of the Tijuana River since 2018, according to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.

“Our beaches have been closed for 645 consecutive days. Recent studies show alarmingly high levels of coastal pollution impacting air quality. We have grave concerns that not only pathogens are in the air, but also industrial chemicals and other harmful pollutants," said Paloma Aguierre, mayor of border town Imperial Beach Paloma, during a press conference in September. "We need to immediately stop the flow of toxic sewage into our communities, and we need state and federal assistance to do that.”

Since the beginning of this year, when a Mexican sewage treatment plant broke, 35 billion gallons of poisoned water have come into the U.S., local officials said during the press conference.

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National City Mayor Ron Morrison said it was "more than an emergency — it's been an ignored travesty."

Just last week, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to declare a humanitarian crisis. The proposal called for Washington to send in federal resources and personnel to manage immigrants and transport them to family or friends in the United States rather than release people into communities and leave them to arrange travel.