Throughout the day and well into the night, buses and vans stop at three state-funded fitness screening centers near California’s southern border with Mexico. Federal immigration agents unload immigrants primarily from Brazil, Cuba, Colombia and Peru, most of whom are awaiting asylum hearings in the United States.
Once inside, coordinators say, migrants are given masks to protect against the spread of infectious diseases, as well as water and food. Medical providers are screening them for coronaviruses, providing vaccines and isolating those who test positive for the virus. Asylum seekers are treated for injuries they may have sustained during their journey and are screened for chronic physical conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
But now, as the state faces a projected $22. 5 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he can no longer make a contribution to the centers, which also get federal and local grants. The Democratic governor proposed in January phasing out state aid. for some medical facilities in the coming months, and in all likelihood to roll back the immigrant assistance program unless President Joe Biden and Congress intervene with more help.
California began contributing financially to medical facilities through its immigrant assistance program in the deadliest phase of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago. tests, vaccinations and other physical fitness tests, serving more than 300,000 migrants since April 2021. The Migrant Assistance Program also provides food, lodging and travel to match migrants with sponsors, circle of family or friends in the United States while they await their immigration hearings, and the state has been covering the humanitarian effort with more than a billion dollars in credits since 2019.
Although the White House declined to comment and no progress has been made on any federal legislation, Newsom said it is positive about federal funding and mentioned “some remarkably smart conversations” with the Biden administration.
A large amount of federal cash has already been identified. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U. S. Department of Homeland SecurityThe U. S. Department of Health and Security Forces issued a note that local governments and non-governmental providers will soon be able to tap another $800 million into the federal budget through a program of housing and services subsidies. FEMA did not respond to questions about the agency’s spending on migrants.
“We continue our operations and again ask all levels of government to make sure there is investment,” said Kate Clark, senior director of immigration for the Jewish Family Service in San Diego, one of the two main operators of migrant shelters. it is controlled by the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego.
While fitness staff and immigration advocates need the state to continue funding, Newsom appears to have bipartisanship within the state to decrease it. He promised more main points in his revised budget in May, before parliamentary budget negotiations began in earnest. And he noted, situations have been replaced so that testing and vaccination facilities are less urgent.
County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, a Democrat, agreed that the burden falls on the federal government, though local officials are contemplating more help. And the state’s Republican Senate leader, Brian Jones, who represents part of the affected region, said California was preparing. to end its pandemic state of emergency on Feb. 28, months before the budget takes effect in July.
“Pandemic situations no longer justify this state investment, especially since immigration is intended to be a federal issue,” Jones said in a statement.
California began supporting aid to immigrants some time after Newsom took office in 2019 and after Trump’s administration ended the “safe release” program that helped send asylum-seeking immigrants to their circle of relatives in the United States. It is a component of California’s broad opposition to Trump’s immigration policies; State lawmakers have also turned California into a so-called sanctuary state, in an attempt to protect it from anti-immigration crackdowns.
California, along with local governments and nonprofits, have stepped in to fill the void and lessen tension in border spaces by temporarily moving migrants elsewhere in the United States. State involvement intensified in 2021 as the pandemic intensified and the Biden administration tried to get to the bottom of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. While some cities in other parts of the country have provided assistance, state officials have said no other state offers California’s foothold.
In a coordinated effort, migrants are dropped off at the centers through federal immigration agents, then screened and picked up through state-contracted organizations that provide medical assistance, assistance, food, and transitional housing pending their immigration hearings.
Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Service coordinate medical care with the University of California, San Diego. The federal government covers maximum college fees, while the state will pay nurses and other medical providers to supplement physical care, according to Catholic Charities.
They spend one to three days before migrants can be boarded on buses or advertising flights and, in the meantime, are housed in hotels and provided with food, clothing and other essentials as part of the state program.
“A lot of them come hungry, hungry,” said Vino Pajanor, executive director of Catholic Charities in San Diego, who described the testing and testing procedure at the centers. “Most of them don’t have shoes. They get shoes.
Officials said about 46,000 people were vaccinated against the coronavirus through the program. They said the figure is particularly lower than the number of immigrants who passed through the centers because some were vaccinated before arriving in the U. S. eligible, while others refused vaccines.
According to the California Health and Human Services Agency, the state plans to eliminate some medical aid, but shelter operations are expected to continue “in the near term,” with its long-term decision through the availability of federal funds. of the more than $1 billion spent across the state, $828 million was allocated through the Department of Public Health, according to the governor’s office.
The company said the state has not followed express plans to reduce the capacity of the sites, will prioritize helping families with young children and “medically fragile people” if shelters are overwhelmed by arrivals.
Some immigration advocates have said the state is making the decision.
“Now is the time for the state of California to redouble its efforts to help Americans seeking exemption from immigration detention,” said Pedro Rios, who directs the U. S. -Mexico border program for the American Friends Service Committee, which advocates on behalf of migrants. “I think it sends the wrong message that disorders are no longer a concern. “
This story produced through KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that provides a detailed policy on fitness issues and is one of KFF’s (Kaiser Family Foundation) top 3 operating programs. KHN is the publisher of California Healthline, an independent publishing arm of the California Health Care Foundation.
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