Arizona county faces 'homelessness on steroids' as migrant shelter funds run out
An Arizona migrant shelter that has housed thousands of asylum seekers plans to halt most operations in two weeks when funding from Washington runs out, a problem for towns along the border where officials fear a surge in homelessness and extra costs. Arizona's Pima County, which borders Mexico, has announced that its contracts with Tucson's Casa Alitas shelter and services transport migrants north from the border cities of Nogales, Douglas and Lukeville will end in two weeks due to lack of federal funding. The county cannot afford the roughly $1 million per week that previously would have been covered by federal funds. This is a concern for towns along the border where officials fear a surge in homelessness and additional costs. Funding for the shelter and transportation services has been caught in political battles about illegal migration and government spending, and Congress is at an impasse due to election-year politics. The Casa alitas shelter, which has housed thousands of asylum seekers since its inception in 2014, plans to reduce its capacity from 1,400 people per day to 140, a level that may not be enough to house all incoming families with infants and toddlers.
ที่ตีพิมพ์ : 2 เดือนที่แล้ว โดย Ted Hesson, Liliana Salgado ใน World
Migrants line up into the dining area at Casa Alitas in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., March 15, 2024. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
Item 5 of 5 Migrants line up into the dining area at Casa Alitas in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., March 15, 2024. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble
WASHINGTON/TUCSON, Arizona, March 18 (Reuters) - An Arizona migrant shelter that has housed thousands of asylum seekers plans to halt most operations in two weeks when funding from Washington runs out, a problem for towns along the border where officials fear a surge in homelessness and extra costs.
Arizona's Pima County, which borders Mexico, has said that at the end of the month its contracts must stop with Tucson's Casa Alitas shelter and services that transport migrants north from the border cities of Nogales, Douglas and Lukeville.
Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said the county cannot afford the roughly $1 million per week that previously would have been covered by federal funds.
The amount "is not something that can be easily absorbed into a Pima County budget," she said.
Funding predicaments similar to Pima County's are playing out in other border regions and far-away cities like New York City, Chicago and Denver that have received migrants.
As in Tucson, other local governments anticipate that without federal dollars, communities will face many more migrants living on their streets, greater demands on police, hospitals and sanitation services.
Pima County, which since 2019 has received over 400,000 migrants who have been processed by U.S. border authorities, estimated 400 to 1,000 migrants with nowhere to stay could start arriving daily in Tucson beginning in April.
But additional funding for the shelter and transportation services has been caught in broader political battles about illegal migration and government spending, and Congress is at an impasse, largely due to election-year politics.
Republicans counter that Biden should reinstate restrictive Trump policies and end new legal entry programs before Congress devotes more money to border security.
Casa Alitas started in 2014 as a church effort to help Central American migrants whom authorities dropped at Tucson's bus station. By 2023 it had served over 180,000 asylum seekers, mostly families, who are legally entitled to stay in the U.S. as they pursue their immigration cases.
While some migrants come from Mexico, Guatemala and other Latin American countries, Casa Alitas has recently housed people from West Africa, India and elsewhere.
At one of five Casa Alitas shelter sites last week, migrants rested on cots and received meals, clean clothes, toiletries and assistance planning onward travel.
As they ate breakfast sandwiches, Vasquez said criminals had shot at their house, forcing them to seek refuge in the U.S.
"We lost our house, our corn, our harvest," she said.
Casa Alitas has already told two-thirds of its 60-person workforce that they will be dismissed due to lack of funding, according to Executive Director Diego Lopez.
The shelter plans to reduce its capacity from 1,400 people per day to 140, a level that may not even be enough to house all incoming families with infants and toddlers, he said.
In December, Pima County received 46,000 migrants - more than ever before, according to county figures. Numbers have been just below 30,000 a month in January and February.
Tucson officials are considering setting up a migrant site with bathrooms but no sleeping accommodations. By giving migrants "some place where they can go," the city hopes to avoid people living on the streets and resulting calls on police and emergency services, said county spokesperson Mark Evans.
In Congress, lawmakers representing the area are divided on the issue of shelter funding.
U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva, a Democrat who represents part of Pima County and more than 350 miles (563 km) of the Mexico border, called for more federal funds and said Republicans were "continuing to exploit the humanitarian crisis for their political gain."
U.S. Representative Juan Ciscomani, a Republican whose district includes another part of Pima County, said in an interview that Biden should reinstate more restrictive Trump-era policies and increase deportations before Congress provides more money for migrant shelter and transportation.
"We need to focus on what would actually solve the problem, which is stopping the flow at the border," Ciscomani said.
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หัวข้อ: Social Issues, Homelessness