A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the streets of San Diego and Imperial counties, sparked by a lack of funding and a spike in immigrants seeking asylum at the border.
Catholic Charities of San Diego continues to respond to this emergency, fulfilling its mission to welcome and help the stranger, as the Gospel calls all people of faith to do….
The organization became the largest provider of assistance to asylum-seekers in Southern California, providing humanitarian and trauma-informed help in an efficient, economical way, said its chief executive officer, “Vino” Pajanor. The operation grew to three shelters in San Diego and Imperial counties, with the largest one having a capacity of 1,100 beds in San Diego.
In the last 28 months, the organization has helped more than 252,000 asylum-seekers from 131 countries, one-third of them families with children, the CEO said.
That all has changed.
Funding for operating the shelters has been drastically reduced by the federal government. The state of California, which has supported the shelters, is facing a budget deficit after several years of surplus.
At the same time, immigration authorities are seeing a high number of immigrants asking for asylum at the border. Immigration officials began to release hundreds of asylum-seekers a day in the streets of San Diego and Imperial counties, instead of taking them to shelters, which could no longer receive a high volume due to the budget cuts.
The migrants are being dropped off near transit centers in cities such as San Diego, Oceanside and Escondido. They generally only have the clothes on their backs and do not speak English. County and city officials fear they will join the thousands of people already living on the streets.
Catholic Charities will now focus on assisting vulnerable asylum-seekers, such as women with children, the elderly, or disabled. The agency has closed two of its shelters, leaving only one in Imperial County, which has 300 beds available, and one in San Diego with 550 beds.
The organization is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security only to receive vulnerable asylum-seekers if there is a surge of migrants. If there is not, the agency will receive any other asylum-seeker needing assistance to connect with family or friends elsewhere in the country, up to its capacity.
“It’s not morally right for us to have open beds and migrants are being dropped off on the street,” said Pajanor.
The state government is handing off the operation of the shelters to non-governmental organizations instead of running them itself. Catholic Charities will be the lead organization in Imperial County starting Sept. 13, and in San Diego County starting Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, the federal government continues to provide a small amount of funds to help the nonprofits assist the migrants, through FEMA.
Inundated with sensational headlines, Catholic Charities’ CEO wants the Catholic community to know the fundamentals.
“Everyone who comes into our care, released by the Department of Homeland Security, is a documented individual,” he said. “These migrants are legally in the country.”
He said that these individuals crossed the border and turned themselves in to immigration officials. After processing them, the U.S officials decided that they could be eligible for asylum. They gave the immigrants a notice to appear in immigration court, and transported them to Catholic Charities shelters. Nearly all will leave within 36 hours, assisted by the organization, to connect with loved ones and to press their case for asylum.
From the Southern Cross
Enjoy prosperity, freedom, security from crime, stability, and reasonably stable communities while you can. It’s all downhill from here for most of America. If you are on the young side, plan accordingly.
Those people should be sent back South of the border together with the Soros crowd who enabled them to enter in the first place.
bedwere: We’re witnessing the destruction of America.
“Those people” were born in the image and likeness of God. I read somewhere that we were supposed to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter … Someone, quick, tell me what Marxist book I read that in. Pretty liberal if you ask me.
So how many are you housing in your home? The Bible doesn’t ask us to be stupid nor to be taken advantage of. Use your brain.
It asks you to love.
Love doesn’t require stupidity. In fact, stupidity is contrary to true love.
It’s not loving to encourage and permit an invasion of our country by millions of people, which is the current government immigration policy. It’s stupid.
Don’t throw around the word “love” as if it’s prima-facie obvious what it means and what needs to be done.
Gays say what they want is about “love” too, but they’re wrong. Maybe you support gay marriage because “love is love”. If you do, you’re wrong.
Love is not always the answer because it depends on what you mean by “love”.
Sometimes true love requires telling people, “No.”
Matthew 10:16 — “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
The Bible doesn’t ask us to love naively. We are commanded to love, but to love shrewdly. That comes from the lips of Jesus himself.
I think you are misapplying that Scripture.
People twist things.
God will bless those who help these people, no question about that.
If you are too scared of them to help, there are others who will.
Just because you disagree with it doesn’t mean it’s being misapplied or being twisted.
You have to be careful whom you help and how you help them. Some good Samaritans have ended up dead for their beneficence.
Just this week, border patrol has apprehended two young males from Lebanon trying to enter the US in Texas, and one Egyptian male. Confirmed reports of Syrians attempting to enter as well. Those are the few who were caught. Many more entered undetected.
When they start blowing things up and murdering civilians, bringing Jihad to America, I don’t want to hear how we should be grateful for the diversity that immigrants bring to America and that we should be loving them. Letting terrorists into the country, letting anyone into the country illegally, is not loving towards your fellow Americans, and it’s not loving toward yourself. It’s a distortion of love. Just because you say “love” doesn’t mean it really is love. Sometimes it’s foolishness.
As others have said, why don’t you open your own home to them? Because you know what they would do.
The Scripture verse you are referring to is Matthew 10:18. It is what He told the Twelve when He sent them out to evangelize. He gave them “authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and illness.”
Jesus told them your quote, then said ” But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.”
It really has nothing to do with the subject we are discussing.
I live in an area where people do open their homes to many others. I grant you that most people don’t, though. Their Churches help them in any way they can so that the people who house them are not overburdened. (Giving rides, providing meals, paying bills.) We have helped people who have taken in refugees, but not housed them ourselves because of our personal health and living conditions. I grant you that there are risks but people of faith rarely even think of that. They pray and if the Lord puts on their heart that they should do this, they do it.
Reply to Reply to bedwere: Not your garden-variety Marxist booklet, but:
““Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1)
Tell me, Karen, how do you like them bananas?
Used to be about a third were sent back. Now it is about 14%
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-lower-percentage-border-crossing-migrants-mexico-rcna100966
“Everyone who comes into our care, released by the Department of Homeland Security, is a documented individual,” he said. “These migrants are legally in the country.”
This is a distortion of the truth. Applying for asylum is the new illegal immigration. None of these people will appear for their scheduled court dates.
We’re not fooled.
Notice they all have cell phones while crying poor and oppressed.
Those hats they’re wearing look brand-new too. Those look like professionals acting as migrants, if you ask me.
Bingo! They are not refugees seeking asylum. They are economic opportunists who have financial means.
They are asylum seekers because they come from areas with famine and war.
To be eligible for asylum, you must be:
Inside the United States
Able to demonstrate that you were persecuted or have a fear of persecution in your home country due to your:
Race
Religion
Nationality
Social group
Political opinion
USA.gov
Let’s give them landlines so they don’t need their cell phones anymore.
Nobody uses landlines anymore, Mr. 1990.
Oh, yes they do.
If they want landlines, they can return home where they are legal residents, get jobs, pay rent or buy a house, and have a phone with a landline.
Why should we be “giving” them anything?
Why don’t you “give” them what they want since you seem to be in a “giving” mood? Or are you only generous in “giving” other people’s money away?
Why don’t you give me a Ferrari so I don’t need to drive my Nissan anymore?
There are groups on Whatsapp and other sites that help them and guide them. So they need phones.
Many are from Africa.
They are not poor.
They can afford to pay human smugglers $10,000-$20,000.
They are never poorly dressed.
The situation of migrants seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border is a humanitarian crisis that requires a compassionate and coordinated response from various stakeholders, including Catholic Charities in San Diego. Catholic Charities has a mission to serve the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, regardless of their faith, race, or nationality. As such, Catholic Charities should continue to provide essential services to the asylum seekers, such as shelter, food, clothing, medical care, legal assistance, and spiritual support. Catholic Charities should also advocate for the rights and dignity of the migrants, and urge the government to expedite the processing of their asylum claims and to ensure their safety and well-being. Catholic Charities should collaborate with other organizations and agencies that share its vision and values, and seek funding and donations from generous individuals and groups who want to help alleviate the suffering of the migrants. Catholic Charities should also educate the public about the root causes of migration and the challenges faced by the asylum seekers, and foster a culture of solidarity and hospitality among the local communities.
Catholic Charities’ “compassionate and coordinated response” facilitates terrorists, drug cartel members, and child sex traffickers to illegally enter this country. I don’t see anything compassionate about that.
Any organizations or anybody who wants to help these people should do so with their own money, out of their own pockets. Not government money. It’s not charity if you give away other people’s money.
We’ve let in too many foreigners and we’re not Americanizing them. We have sown the seeds of our own collapse as a nation.
Our own collapse – You may be correct. We can only absorb so many new people each year. Once they are here, however, I don’t know what it means to “Americanize” them. Help me out on this one. I’m not trying to be snarky or anything, but after 80+ years of trying, I don’t know what other folks mean when they say Americanize.
It isn’t an easy question to answer, but it might be interesting to know what you and others mean by the term.
Can you help.
Go to Dearborn, Michigan, and you’ll see what it means to not Americanize foreign immigrants. Go to the Spanish speaking parts of Los Angeles, and you’ll see what it means to not Americanize foreign immigrants.
For one, immigrants should become proficient in reading and speaking English. The government should not provide booklets, voter guides, signs, instructions, personal assistance in any language but English. Unless immigrants learn our country’s language, they will not be able to be participants in American civic and cultural life, and they will create cultural enclaves within the United States that are physically within our territory but are culturally separatist. Ideally, they should prove English proficiency before being admitted into the country.
The French today are regretting their lax immigration policies. We should learn from their mistakes.
Remember these words: missing ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
You gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure. It’s a very good sign; it means that I love you.