Supervisor Jim Desmond on Sunday took to social media to complain about U.S. border agents’ practice of dropping off migrants in San Diego County.
“This morning, I visited the Oceanside transit station and witnessed Border Patrol officials drop off over 20 migrants. Nearly 7,000 migrants have been dropped in San Diego in the past 10 days alone. The County of San Diego can only do so much, and our resources are stretched to their limits,” Desmond wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
He also called for “comprehensive immigration reform,” noting that the current process hurts both San Diegans and migrants. He also thanking local non-profit organizations for offering aid.
“Our border is in chaos, and we need a stronger, more humane system.”
In the video from the transit station that accompanied the text, Desmond added, “It’s very unfortunate that this is how the system is working.”
San Diego’s leaders have been speaking out against the policy in recent weeks. The cited cause for the drop-offs is an attempt to clear a space between two U.S.-Mexico border fences where hundreds of migrants, asylum- seekers and refugees had been camping, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The drop-offs have overwhelmed nonprofits, such as Jewish Family Service, which runs the shelter system for the San Diego Rapid Response Network. The coalition supports asylum seekers arriving in San Diego.
“Effective immediately and going forward, the shelter will limit arrivals only to the most vulnerable asylum seekers released by (the Department of Homeland Security), including those with medical conditions, families, pregnant people, LGBTQI, older adults, etc., as space allows,” according to a statement from the nonprofit earlier this month.
County Supervisor Joel Anderson also sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for assistance.
According to the letter, the Rapid Response Network has served more than 157,000 people with shelter and other humanitarian aid since the DHS began releasing hundreds of migrant families onto San Diego’s streets in the fall of 2018.
– City News Service