Crowds of anti-immigration protesters blocked three Homeland Security buses that were carrying around 140 undocumented Central American immigrants on a road in Murietta, California.

Most of the passengers on the buses were children who were being transported from Texas in an attempt to lessen the overcrowding of detention centers. The buses were forced to turn around and head to a San Diego County Customs and Border Facility after the blockade. 

Protesters yelled obscenities and waived signs that read, "Return to Sender," while others suggested that the immigrants should be dropped off at the White House instead.

The protests occurred one day after Murrieta Mayor Alan Long urged citizens to demonstrate against the federals government's actions.

"Murrieta expects our government to enforce our laws," said Long, "Including the deportation of illegal immigrants caught crossing our borders, not disperse them into local communities."

Protesters lined the road to the Riverside County Customs and Border Facility, shouting "Go home; we don't want you here."

The protestors failed to disperse after being instructed to do so by law enforcement officers. No physical attempt was made to disband the anti-immigration group.

After about 25 minutes of road blockage, the buses turned around and headed for San Diego County.

There were also pro-immigration supporters at the event, and the two rival factions clashed a number of times. One pro-immigration protestor was singer Lupillo Rivera, brother of the late Jenny Rivera.    

Since last October more than 52,000 undocumented immigrants have been detained crossing the U.S./Mexico border. The large number of families and children have been too much for border detention centers to handle.

One of the alternatives is transferring the undocumented immigrants to less crowded facilities, as was being attempted in this case.

Immigrants coming from Central America are difficult to deport because their country of origin does not border the United States. Legal processes must take place before deportation, and proceedings can take months to be heard.

The U.S. government is in a bind due to their lack of options and growing detention of Central American immigrants. Most of the detainees are children, which makes deportation more difficult because the children must be reunited with their families.