SAN DIEGO (CNS) — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to accept nearly $19.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for a migrant transition day center to help immigrants entering the United States travel to their final destinations.
Supervisors voted 4-1 on April 30 to advance the proposal after directing Sarah Aghassi, interim chief administrative officer, to begin programs to temporarily provide shelter, food, transportation, acute medical care, personal hygiene supplies and labor to support migrants recently released from federal Department of Homeland Security custody.
Board Chairwoman Nora Vargas said the money would address "one of the biggest challenges'' facing the County: global migration.
Andrew Potter spoke through the board clerk due to a vocal cord issue-- Vargas said the County was "taking a monumental step forward in addressing the needs of our migrant and refugee communities.'' She added the services are about treating every individual with dignity and respect.
Supervisors also approved a provision requiring nonprofit contractors to accept all migrants to ensure they don't end up on the streets.
In a statement, Vargas said the County will move forward with soliciting bids to establish the migrant center.
According to Vargas' office, the funding should be available by the end of May, with proposals due in June and a contract awarded in July.
The board voted Tuesday after hearing an update from Barbara Jimenez of the County's Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities. She went through the steps county officials have taken since the FEMA money was first made available, including a meeting with nonprofits that assist migrants.
She said feedback from that meeting included a suggestion that language translation and "culturally informed" services be quickly made available to those starting their journey in the United States.
Jimenez said that more than 136,000 migrants have been released from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol custody in the County since mid-September.
Just as he did in late April, Supervisor Jim Desmond voted no, saying the money doesn't equal a long-term plan for a national migration crisis.
"[This item] effectively approves and perpetuates the federal government's mismanagement of the border,'' Desmond said. "I refuse to be complicit in a broken system.''
Desmond criticized the Biden administration for not following the law and once again stressed the need for better security and vetting process for migrants.
More people are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border than the Border Patrol can manage, which is a safety concern, Desmond said. He said more than 80% of migrants claiming asylum don't qualify, and there's no recourse for those who don't show up to their court date.
"We should not be tolerating the current situation at the border," Desmond said.
Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said Desmond knows that there was a bipartisan bill in Congress that would have answered some of his concerns. However, former President Donald Trump didn't want it passed, so it would have been a political weight around President Joe Biden's neck.
"We all agree that we have to fix the border crisis'' and that more money is needed for security, Lawson-Remer said.
"I know that we never get to say the stuff that's really going on; we just sit there and have theater every day,'' said Lawson-Remer, who praised the CAO's office for working to prevent migrants from being stuck in the County.
Supervisors approved $3 million in October and an additional $3 million in December to open a temporary migrant center.
After that facility was closed due to a lack of funding, supervisors approved Vargas' proposal for a sustainable, federally funded center in late February.
