By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner KGTV 10 News.

February 25, 2024 (San Diego) – Bipartisan calls for federal help are escalating after closure of a local migrant welcoming center due to lack of funds amid an unprecedented surge in migrants from around the world.

The migrant center run by SBCS (formerly known as South Bay Community Center) closed its doors Thursday night.  Kathie Lembo, the nonprofit’s president and CEO, stated,  “As the number of migrants arriving at the center has increased significantly over the last few weeks, our finite resources have been stretched to the limit.”

San Diego County had allocated $6 million to fund the welcome center as an alternative to Border Patrol dropping off massive numbers of migrants at transit centers. The welcome center had provided temporary shelter, food, Wifi connections, and travel information for the vast majority of migrants seeking to rejoin family members elsewhere in the United States. The funds were expected to last until March.

But with more than 100,000 migrants arriving in our region since September, the center ran out of funds.  Now Border Patrol, which lacks sufficient facilities to detain migrants, is once again dropping many of them off at transit centers to fend for themselves, or accept help from volunteers.