SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Following a vote Tuesday evening, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is sending a letter of support for a bipartisan immigration reform bill to address problems at the border.
Earlier Tuesday, County Supervisor Joel Anderson drummed up discussions about a temporary closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers. Anderson had written a letter to the president about it and sought wider support from the board, but that didn't happen.
Democratic supervisors viewed that discussion as a political stunt.
Instead, the board voted to send a letter of support to Congress, calling on them to work with President Joe Biden to pass a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
Despite his call for a temporary border closure, Anderson voted in favor of the letter.
Supervisor Jim Desmond backed Anderson's closure idea.
"The problem is we're allowing them to walk in unimpeded, and then just ask for asylum and then they jump ahead of the line — so why should anyone try to do the legal way?" says Desmond.
The board also voted Tuesday to direct county staff to seek federal money to open a long-term migrant shelter. The county had spent $6 million to operate the migrant welcome center in City Heights, but the money ran out, forcing it to close on Feb. 22.
Since Oct. 2023, that center had helped 80,000 migrants.
Watch the video at the top of this page to hear public comments from speakers with passionate opinions on how to handle the ongoing border crisis.
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