Closure of San Diego’s ‘welcome center’ causes confusion for asylum seekers

Jaime Chambers
·2 min read
6

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5) — More migrants have been passing through San Diego’s public transit for the last few days. Without a centrally-funded drop off, however, confusion has sent asylum seekers in all directions.

The return to street releases come after San Diego’s migrant “welcoming center” closed last week after being open for only about four months. According to county officials, the center ran out of funding, forcing it to shutter.

“The people that know how to handle these types of situations, how to help migrants how to get them on their way, need to be (at) the front,” said Robert Vivar with the Immigrants Rights Consortium.

Vivar and his volunteer partners have funded buses to bring groups of migrants from the Iris station bus stop and to the Old Town Trolley Station, bridging the last 20 miles to a true national transit station — the airport.

In a statement, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority said it is “sympathetic to the needs of migrants trying to secure travel arrangements to connect with friends and family in other parts of the country.”

More than 1,500 migrants dropped off on San Diego streets, many waiting at airport

The airport authority added that they are coordinating with volunteer groups and nonprofits that aid migrants as they help their clients book airfare tickets and navigate the airport.

“Currently, some nonprofits are set up at Old Town Transit Center to help,” the statement continued. “All passengers intending to arrive at the airport via the San Diego Flyer at Old Town Transit Center are encouraged to seek the assistance of these organizations prior to coming to the airport.”

“99.9 percent are not staying in San Diego,” Vivar said. “They want to get to their destination, to their families, to their sponsors. To people that are about to support them.”

That included one group of Haitian asylum seekers FOX 5 spoke with while they were waiting for hours in the rain to board a Greyhound bus bound for Tennessee.

Hundreds of migrants passed through San Diego’s border in recent months and more are likely on the way.

With the welcome center closed, the big question for county officials remains: how long will the surge continue and will Congress ever pass new legislation to help border towns manage asylum seekers?

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