Murrieta, California Mayor Alan Long has explained why he encouraged his residents to protest and force the turnaround of buses carrying undocumented immigrants, mostly Central Americans, to a U.S. Border Patrol station in the town on Tuesday.

According to Associated Press, Chief Border Patrol Agent Paul Beeson was taking the migrants, including children, from overcrowded Texas facilities to Murrieta. The buses were met with crowds led by Long chanting "Send them back!" and eventually took an alternative route through San Diego, an hour south of Murrieta.

Long told radio station 790 KABC that the Department of Homeland Security told him and the town's residents nothing more than that buses of about 140 undocumented immigrants would be coming every 72 hours.

"All our information is coming from a local border patrol office and at very last minute moment's notice," Long said. "We believe what they are telling us: they are coming here to be processed. After that there are a lot of gaps."

The mayor said that what happens to the immigrants after processing is unknown.

Protesters think that many of the migrants either carry diseases or are criminals, 790 KABC reports. According to Long, however, he does not hold anything personal against the immigrants. Instead, the mayor says he disagrees with "the process by which they are getting here, and that's what needs to be fixed."

Over 52,000 unaccompanied minors have been caught crossing the Texas-Mexico border since October, AP reports. Texas does not have enough resources to take care of them all, causing the transfer to Murrieta. On Tuesday, Long said that his town will monitor all costs of the transfer and send a "big fat bill" to Washington.

"Change needs to occur at the federal level in many ways," he said Tuesday, causing the crowd to cheer.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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