A passageway connecting the San Diego area in California to an industrial site in the Mexican city of Tijuana was found recently by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-authorises-1-bn-for-trumps-border-wall-205641">US Customs and Border Protection</a>. The tunnel stretches for 4,309 feet (1,313 metres) and has a lift, rail track, drainage and air ventilation systems, high voltage electrical cables and panels.&nbsp;

Authorities have refused to comment on potential suspects behind the tunnel, no drugs have been found in the tunnel and no arrests have been made.&nbsp;

There could exist a possible link between the tunnel and Mexico's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-mexico-el-chapos-sons-add-brash-new-chapter-to-crime-family-257617">Sinaloa cartel</a>, which operates in the area and has been described by the US as one of the largest drug-trafficking organizations on the planet. Founder and leader of the Sinaloa cartel <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/the-rise-and-fall-of-el-chapo-mexicos-most-wanted-kingpin-236726">Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman</a>, is currently serving life at ADX Florence.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-border-crossings-plunge-but-immigration-raids-draw-fire-241783">US border crossings plunge but immigration raids draw fire</a>

Mexican officials identified the entrance of the tunnel in August and US investigators mapped it before releasing the findings. The tunnel is 5.5 feet high and 2 feet wide, resting at a depth of 70 feet (21m) below the surface. US Customs and Border Protection are not clear how long it took to build it.

<img alt="The sophisticated tunnel had a rail track" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="39a576c5-34ae-442e-81df-5187b5f23f8e" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%286%29_23.jpg" /> 
[&nbsp;US officials say they have discovered the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the border with Mexico. (Courtesy: Reuters) ]

Blocking a suspected former exit of the tunnel in San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial warehouse area were several hundred sandbags, as per reports. The main tunnel had an incomplete offshoot. The second-longest tunnel found in the San Diego area of the country in 2014 was 2,966 feet long, as per reports.

Impeached US President Donald Trump has asserted the need for a border wall many times, adamant that it is required to tackle illegal immigration and drug trafficking.&nbsp;Officials have concurred that most drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry and hidden in privately-owned vehicles or transporter lorries mixed with other goods. A border wall would be as effective against a network of smuggling tunnels as a gun. 
&nbsp;

A passageway connecting the San Diego area in California to an industrial site in the Mexican city of Tijuana was found recently by US Customs and Border Protection.

A passageway connecting the San Diego area in California to an industrial site in the Mexican city of Tijuana was found recently by US Customs and Border Protection. The tunnel stretches for 4,309 feet (1,313 metres) and has a lift, rail track, drainage and air ventilation systems, high voltage electrical cables and panels. Authorities have refused to comment on potential suspects behind the tunnel, no drugs have been found in the tunnel and no arrests have been made. There could exist a possible link between the tunnel and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, which operates in the area and has been described by the US as one of the largest drug-trafficking organizations on the planet. Founder and leader of the Sinaloa cartel Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is currently serving life at ADX Florence. Also Read:US border crossings plunge but immigration raids draw fire Mexican officials identified the entrance of the tunnel in August and US investigators mapped it before releasing the findings. The tunnel is 5.5 feet high and 2 feet wide, resting at a depth of 70 feet (21m) below the surface. US Customs and Border Protection are not clear how long it took to build it. [ US officials say they have discovered the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the border with Mexico. (Courtesy: Reuters) ] Blocking a suspected former exit of the tunnel in San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial warehouse area were several hundred sandbags, as per reports. The main tunnel had an incomplete offshoot. The second-longest tunnel found in the San Diego area of the country in 2014 was 2,966 feet long, as per reports. Impeached US President Donald Trump has asserted the need for a border wall many times, adamant that it is required to tackle illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Officials have concurred that most drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry and hidden in privately-owned vehicles or transporter lorries mixed with other goods. A border wall would be as effective against a network of smuggling tunnels as a gun.

Longest smuggling tunnel discovered under US-Mexico Border; possible connections to Sinaloa cartel

The children crammed into the bus and sat in two neat lines, poring over notebooks at desks where once there had been passenger seats.&nbsp;

From the overhead baggage bins, a teacher hung their exploits: coloured alphabet letters, watercolour paintings.

In the border city of Tijuana just miles<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/over-900-children-separated-at-us-border-since-policy-halted-aclu-239605"> from the US border</a>, in a dirt parking lot adjoining <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mexico-says-migrant-numbers-at-us-border-down-40-since-may-239609">a migrant shelter</a>, that bus is offering a rare chance at school to Central American and Mexican children.

For most of the several dozen who have passed through the program since it began in mid-July, education was a distant dream in the weeks or months since their parents decided to uproot and head north to seek refuge or a better life.

Estefania Rebellon, director of the program called Yes We Can, said it offers specialised bilingual education for children who tend to have low literacy and struggle with social skills. Providing care and security is important too.&nbsp;

"These are children from very dangerous areas, where they have very big issues with trust," she said.&nbsp;

Despite shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend that left 22 people dead, including eight Mexicans, she said the violence they saw in their home countries was likely worse.

Police say the gunman posted a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto before the shooting.

She said it was upsetting that vulnerable people could not count on finding safety in the United States, even to run basic errands such as back-to-school shopping.

"It's atrocious that there's the amount of hate in this country that's been converted into mass shootings. It's taken innocent lives," she said.&nbsp;

Rebellon, who also works as an actress in Los Angeles, said she knows what it is like to feel lost as a migrant child.

When she was 10 years old, she moved to Miami from Colombia, where her parents had received death threats.&nbsp;

The school became her refuge. 
&nbsp; 
When she saw large groups of Central American migrants arriving in Tijuana late last year, she launched a school program for children in tents at a large shelter.&nbsp;

The "tiny home movement" - an eponymous social movement that advocates for smaller homes - inspired her to try the same concept in an old bus.

Rebellon's bus used to have a capacity for 55 people - but with the old interior torn out, it can now seat 80 children.&nbsp;

The bus has welcomed aboard 37 students ages 5 to 12 since opening and will take in another 20 children in the coming weeks.&nbsp;

Yes, We Can also launch a program for teenagers in tents outside, Rebellon said.&nbsp;

The three teachers, accredited in Mexico, have experience working with displaced children in Latin America.&nbsp;

Yes, We Can is working to bring on a fourth teacher who speaks two indigenous languages, in addition to Spanish and English.&nbsp;

Most of the children are from families that are stuck in limbo in Tijuana for weeks or months as they inch higher on a long waitlist to apply for asylum in the United States.&nbsp;

They come from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala as well as Mexican cities in states including Guerrero and Michoacan, where locals often fear getting caught in the crossfire of warring drug gangs.&nbsp;

Rebellon said parents from those cities have told her that teachers often refuse to show up at school for fear of getting killed or kidnapped, and some children had missed school for several months.

If the program can secure enough funding, Rebellon said she would like to expand to Ciudad Juarez and Mexicali, other border cities with surging migrant populations.

"We can be on a bus, in a house, in a boat," she said. "It's more about what we teach the children."

 
&nbsp;

The children crammed into the bus and sat in two neat lines, poring over notebooks at desks where once there had been passenger seats. From the overhead baggage bins, a teacher hung their exploits: coloured alphabet letters, watercolour paintings.

The children crammed into the bus and sat in two neat lines, poring over notebooks at desks where once there had been passenger seats. From the overhead baggage bins, a teacher hung their exploits: coloured alphabet letters, watercolour paintings. In the border city of Tijuana just miles from the US border, in a dirt parking lot adjoining a migrant shelter, that bus is offering a rare chance at school to Central American and Mexican children. For most of the several dozen who have passed through the program since it began in mid-July, education was a distant dream in the weeks or months since their parents decided to uproot and head north to seek refuge or a better life. Estefania Rebellon, director of the program called Yes We Can, said it offers specialised bilingual education for children who tend to have low literacy and struggle with social skills. Providing care and security is important too. "These are children from very dangerous areas, where they have very big issues with trust," she said. Despite shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend that left 22 people dead, including eight Mexicans, she said the violence they saw in their home countries was likely worse. Police say the gunman posted a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto before the shooting. She said it was upsetting that vulnerable people could not count on finding safety in the United States, even to run basic errands such as back-to-school shopping. "It's atrocious that there's the amount of hate in this country that's been converted into mass shootings. It's taken innocent lives," she said. Rebellon, who also works as an actress in Los Angeles, said she knows what it is like to feel lost as a migrant child. When she was 10 years old, she moved to Miami from Colombia, where her parents had received death threats. The school became her refuge. When she saw large groups of Central American migrants arriving in Tijuana late last year, she launched a school program for children in tents at a large shelter. The "tiny home movement" - an eponymous social movement that advocates for smaller homes - inspired her to try the same concept in an old bus. Rebellon's bus used to have a capacity for 55 people - but with the old interior torn out, it can now seat 80 children. The bus has welcomed aboard 37 students ages 5 to 12 since opening and will take in another 20 children in the coming weeks. Yes, We Can also launch a program for teenagers in tents outside, Rebellon said. The three teachers, accredited in Mexico, have experience working with displaced children in Latin America. Yes, We Can is working to bring on a fourth teacher who speaks two indigenous languages, in addition to Spanish and English. Most of the children are from families that are stuck in limbo in Tijuana for weeks or months as they inch higher on a long waitlist to apply for asylum in the United States. They come from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala as well as Mexican cities in states including Guerrero and Michoacan, where locals often fear getting caught in the crossfire of warring drug gangs. Rebellon said parents from those cities have told her that teachers often refuse to show up at school for fear of getting killed or kidnapped, and some children had missed school for several months. If the program can secure enough funding, Rebellon said she would like to expand to Ciudad Juarez and Mexicali, other border cities with surging migrant populations. "We can be on a bus, in a house, in a boat," she said. "It's more about what we teach the children."

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Longest smuggling tunnel discovered under US-Mexico Border; possible connections to Sinaloa cartel

At US-Mexico border, a bus becomes a school for migrant children in limbo

In Pics: Mexico to China- Events that captured the world's imagination

US agents launch tear gas at migrants