SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Jewish Family Service says it has helped 200,000 migrants in transit through San Diego County since 2018, providing them with temporary shelter, meals and transportation to their final destinations across the U.S.
It’s been doing it with money given by donors and other benefactors including the federal government. The County of San Diego also funded a separate Migrant Welcome Center that another local nonprofit operated for four months starting in November 2023
But when county funding ran out in late February, JFS says it did not stop aiding asylum-seekers.
“Organizations like Jewish Family Service in San Diego, Catholic Charities, Immigrant defenders, Al Otro Lado, Haitian Bridge Alliance, the list goes on for organizations that continue to step forward in the absences of funding,” said Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services with JFS.
Others, like South Bay Community Services, SBCS, were forced to close that migrant welcome center when the county’s financial support ended.
This prompted the Border Patrol to start busing and dropping off migrants at public places after processing them, a practice that continues to this day.
Clark tells Border Report that JFS and other non-government organizations are hopeful San Diego County will soon start releasing millions of dollars recently allocated by the federal government.
San Diego County is in line to receive almost $20 million specifically earmarked for migrant services in the region.
“It is critically important for the county of San Diego, in particular, to come alongside organizations that have been closest to this work doing both sheltering and supporting individuals that have been released to streets of San Diego over the last year,” said Clark.
Last week, the County of San Diego said it was still “discussing the possibilities” and had not decided how and who would get the money.
“Every day that there is no coordination or communication, it’s a day our region is potentially going to be detrimental,” said Clark. “We really urge the county of San Diego and others to come forward and have a seat at the table alongside us.”
On Tuesday, the county said the money will have to be distributed differently per the federal government.
In the past, it was “reimbursement based,” but now it has to wait until it physically has the money before it can disperse it, and it will require “full board approval.”
Clark and JFS would like to see the money sooner rather than later.
“This is an opportunity for the county of San Diego to be a good steward of the dollars and help coordinate a response that is really in line with the infrastructure that we’ve created in our community.”
But Clark and JFS will have to wait because the distribution of the money “is not imminent,” according to the County of San Diego.