The San Diego County Board of Supervisors late Tuesday approved spending an additional $3 million from the federal American Rescue Plan to support a migrant welcome center that opened in October.
Chairwoman Nora Vargas said the center has assisted 40,000 asylum seekers since it opened with an initial $3 million in federal funding, but is in danger of running out of money this month.
“It’s important to note that we have 700 people average daily coming to the transition center that we’ve created. And this is really a crisis response center,” she said.
She added that “this is a federal issue that our county can’t sustain taking on and I implore the federal government to step up.”
The effort was spearheaded by Vargas and Supervisor Joel Anderson. The sole “no” vote was cast by Supervisor Jim Desmond, who said assisting migrants must remain solely a federal responsibility.
The transitional center helps asylum-seekers move beyond San Diego County to their final destinations, while providing access to wi-fi, food, water, hygiene kits, restrooms and other services.
The center, whose location is not being released out of safety concerns, is run by the South Bay nonprofit SBCS.
With the expiration of Title 42 restrictions earlier this year, San Diego County has experienced an unprecedented surge in arrivals, with many asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
