Hundreds of migrants who recently entered the country seeking asylum are being released onto San Diego streets after county funding ran out for the migrant welcome center, with the latest bus loads released in San Ysidro Saturday morning.
“More street releases happening today,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond posted Saturday on X, accompanied by video of a bus apparently unloading migrants in San Ysidro.
Hundreds of migrants were also dropped off Friday by U.S. Border Patrol officials at San Diego transit stations in Old Town and on Iris Avenue, according to Fox5.
Border Patrol officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Last Tuesday, Desmond and fellow Supervisor Joel Anderson asked for federal assistance to help pick up the slack for the Chula Vista-based nonprofit organization formerly known as South Bay Community Services, which provided services to migrants before its funding ran out on Thursday and it was closed.
“We anticipate a surge in individuals sleeping in our airports and streets,” Desmond said in a prior statement. “The federal government must take immediate action to rectify this problem. The responsibility for addressing this crisis lies firmly in their hands, and they must take decisive steps to fix it.”
Initially, the county was receiving between 300 and 400 migrants a day, but that number has increased to between 800 and 900, Desmond said.
“This surge is not merely a matter of numbers; it is a glaring symptom of a system failing to enforce the laws designed to safeguard our nation’s borders,” Desmond said.
Anderson said Tuesday that “with funding for San Diego’s migrant transition center expiring this week, our county will once again be burdened with migrant street releases at transit centers as early as this Saturday. San Diego’s migrant transition center has prevented more than 80,000 street releases since October 2023 — but without federal funding, it is unsustainable to continue providing these services indefinitely.
“Current estimates project that San Diego County will be seeing up to 1,000 migrants dropped off by Border Patrol every day unless federal action is taken. This is unacceptable for our communities and inhumane for those seeking a better life.
I am calling on President Biden to temporarily close the U.S.-Mexico border until there is a solution,” Anderson continued. “Next week, I’ll be asking my colleagues to join me and issue an official request to the White House.”
According to Anderson, the center prevented the release of over 80,000 asylum-seeking migrants onto the streets since October 2023.
— City News Service