SAN DIEGO — San Diego is preparing for an influx of migrants as Title 42 is expected to expire. The pandemic-era policy is anticipated to end when the national COVID-19 public health emergency ends in May.
As one of the country's largest border cities, San Diego is getting ready for an increase in asylum seekers once Title 42 is officially lifted. The main concern is having enough resources to handle the influx.
The Trump-era public health law has been in place since the start of the pandemic and allowed the United States to quickly deport migrants seeking asylum. As the COVID-19 emergency ends, it's likely Title 42 will end as well.
"That means we as a city, county and region are going to be devoting resources to help these individuals find housing, resources to become stable," said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo.
It's too soon to know how large of an influx in migrants the region will see. The city expects an increase in San Diego with it being a border town and a town that's accepting of asylum seekers.
"Our land points of entry along border with Tijuana, out in the Imperial Valley with Mexicali. We are also seeing other states, other governors busing a lot of their asylum seekers to places like California, New York and Massachusetts," he said.
Jewish Family Services is leading the efforts to shelter migrants locally. Since launching operations in Oct. 2018, they've served more than 125,000 people seeking asylum.
"We are operating in non-congregate hotels and leveraging our ability to use an off-site location to operate a day center to open capacity in our hotels," said Kate Clark, the senior director of immigration services at Jewish Family Services.
The organization relies on federal dollars to operate. As of now Clark says the funding only allows them to sustain operations but not expand.
"I highlight the opportunity that their are other levels of government that could step forward to support the situation," she said.
The county is working to create a response plan to make sure asylum seekers and refugees have the resources they need so that San Diego is ready the moment Title 42 is lifted.
The Biden administration plans to end the COVID-19 emergency on May 11. There are still court decisions that must be made to allow Title 42 to end.
WATCH RELATED: Migrants continue to be dropped off at transit stations, as the Supreme Court keeps Title 42 (Dec. 2022).