The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to move forward with a plan for a long-term transfer center and respite shelter after securing federal funding to help arriving migrants.
The $19.6 million allocation comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency fund. Accommodation and services programor SSP, which funds non-federal entities that provide humanitarian services to recently arrived migrants.
“We’re facing a pretty significant situation and we absolutely need these resources,” Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said Tuesday. “It’s a great day to celebrate the fact that we received this funding.”
Thousands of migrants – many of them asylum seekers – continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border and are released into the local community after being processed by the U.S. Border Patrol. The county previously allocated $6 million for a temporary migrant center that provided services to help people reach their final destinations, but had to close it earlier than expected due to lack of funding.
As a result, in late February, the Border Patrol resumed daily releases of adult migrants at a public transportation hub in South San Diego. County officials estimate that more than 135,000 migrants have been released onto the streets since September.
On Feb. 27, the county voted to develop a plan for a long-term transfer site and respite shelter, but said it would need to find outside funding to make the project a reality. .
The county applied for FEMA funding last Friday after being named as an eligible applicant. Although SSP funds are typically repaid later, FEMA asked the county whether the money was needed up front, said Sarah Aghassi, interim administrative director.
“We said ‘yes, absolutely,'” she said. “But in the meantime, we don’t know if this is actually going to happen or not,” she added.
Aghassi recommended that in the meantime the county work on parallel tracks — continue to pursue funding upfront, but also invest county money to advance plans that could later be replaced with federal funds.
On Tuesday, the board authorized the county to do just that and restart some migrant services.
County officials plan to hold an “industry day” to meet with community organizations, perhaps next week, to get their input on the scope of services that would be provided to migrants and what that would look like this proposed offer.
Last week, the California Welcoming Task Force – which includes local service organizations such as Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Al Otro Lado and Jewish Family Service – urged the county to collaborate with them and learn about the most pressing needs .
“We heard loud and clear from community stakeholders,” assured Aghassi.
Supervisor Joel Anderson, who led the effort with Speaker Nora Vargas, said the center would prevent migrants from being exploited or becoming homeless on the streets of San Diego County.
Supervisor Jim Desmond, the lone dissenting vote, said federal funding should be spent on proper screening and screening of people crossing the border.
“Safety should be our number one priority,” he said. “The federal government is giving us money to solve the problem it has created: an overwhelming number of asylum seekers it is allowing into our country, more than we or they can handle. »
The board gave Aghassi the green light to return May 21 with a request for general reserve funds to begin work on the project pending FEMA funding, if she believes it is financially feasible. feasible.
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