PHOENIX — A fight over funding could end critical services for migrants in Arizona on or around April 1.
ABC15 visited Somerton in Yuma County where the Regional Center for Border Health has established a key transition center for migrants to go to after they've been processed, background checked, and released by border patrol agents to continue in the immigration process.
Providing those services is expensive and is becoming a burden for this nonprofit organization, which says it's had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of its own money because it's not getting reimbursed by the federal government for everything it believes it should be.
ABC15 and Scripps News have launched this special series taking an in-depth look at life along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Amanda Aguirre, President and CEO of the Regional Center for Border Health, says if things don't change, they may be forced to shut down the transition center on or around April 1.
The flow of people is constant at the Regional Center for Border Health.
On a given day, a few busloads of around 50 migrants may arrive. But during surges at the border, it's not uncommon to see 17 or 18 buses, which means the group is servicing close to 2,000 migrants.
In late February, Marisol Ocampo, who is coming from Colombia, just started the asylum request process.
"Back in Colombia, life is really tough right now," she explained. "The economy, unemployment - they're both bad, but more than anything it's just how dangerous it's become."
She says the goal is to obtain a better quality of life in the U.S., especially for her 4-year-old son who has Down Syndrome. Ocampo says her country lacks the services, therapies, and treatments her son needs to succeed and hopes to obtain those in the U.S.; she feels coming here is her family's only hope.
These are some of the heartbreaking stories Aguirre and her team hear each day.
"We serve a lot of people," explained Aguirre. "We go to places nobody wants to go."
What initially started as a public health initiative and network of health clinics in rural Arizona has expanded in Somerton to include a transition center to handle the surges in migrants that Yuma County has seen over the past three years, with more and more people requesting asylum.
In 2021, Aguirre and her team created the transition center for migrants who have been screened, background checked, and released by border patrol agents.
"It's not our business nor do we want to hold people for a long period of time," explained Sean McGoffin, chief patrol agent with the U.S. Border Patrol's Yuma Sector. "So as a result of that immigration process, folks can go to NGOs or to other locations, and in some cases, be released."
Once a migrant is background checked, fingerprinted, and photographed, if it is determined that a migrant does not have a criminal background or a prior immigration violation, and if the migrant is seeking asylum, he or she is free to go after receiving a court date or a date to report to immigration officials – all of this determined by current federal immigration laws.
McGoffin also discussed the importance of the Regional Center for Border Health.
"She [Aguirre] does such an amazing job helping the community here," explained McGoffin. "It's important to her and the community here in Yuma itself to be able to have the opportunity to transition people for their reporting in the immigration process."
When migrants arrive at the center, workers give out food and water - migrants also get COVID tests.
The center is not a shelter, but workers can help migrants book travel to stay with friends and family as their asylum requests play out.
The center also provides rides to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and helps arrange motel stays or stays with a Valley church if migrants can't travel the same day they are released.
It's a 7-day-a-week job that comes at a cost for the team.
"We already provided close to about half a million dollars or more of "in-kind support," said Aguirre, "for things that FEMA doesn't reimburse."
Aguirre says they're forced to dip into their pockets to cover overtime pay, employee benefits, and medication.
"It's the work we are doing, to stop releases on the streets."
Street releases happen across Arizona. Instead, The team works to try and give migrants a safe place to go without disrupting the community.
Yuma County does not have the resources, the infrastructure, or the travel capabilities that larger counties like Maricopa have.
Since it opened in 2021, the transition center has helped more than 215,000 migrants, according to Aguirre. She believes her organization is saving lives, but says they need FEMA to step up and reimburse them what they believe is fair.
Response from The Department of Homeland Security:
"We continue to call on Congress to step up, pass the bipartisan border security agreement negotiated in the Senate, and provide frontline personnel with the policy and resources they need to secure the border. The Senate's bipartisan border security legislation is tough, fair, and takes meaningful steps to address the challenges our country faces after decades of congressional inaction, including funding for the Shelter and Services program that supports cities and communities that receive migrants as they await immigration court proceedings."
On Background
- The Administration has awarded nearly $1 billion in federal grant funding to communities across the country and continues to partner with cities and states as they work to welcome recently arrived migrants.
- In FY23, Yuma County Arizona was awarded over $21 million in federal grant funding, including over $11 million in Shelter and Services Program (SSP) funding.
- DHS has been in close and ongoing communication with Yuma County, providing technical assistance on their awards.
- If Congress fails to pass the bipartisan Senate legislation and adequately fund DHS, the Department and its agencies will be forced to reprogram funds, further straining our ability to conduct our mission, further straining our workforce, and standing in the way of helping U.S. cities and communities that are welcoming migrants.
- The Administration's request for immediate supplemental funding to secure the border, build capacity to enforce immigration law, and counter fentanyl includes $1.4 billion for SSP.
- The Administration appreciates the Senate's bipartisan border legislation that would make additional investments in DHS, including SSP.
- Many noncitizens who utilize one of the many expanded lawful pathways this administration has put into place are likely eligible to apply to work legally in the United States, support themselves and their families, and contribute to their communities.
- Noncitizens are likely eligible to immediately apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to legally work in the United States if they were paroled into the U.S. through the processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV); Uniting for Ukraine (U4U); after receiving a CBP One App and receiving parole; or after applying for Temporary Protected Status.
- On September 20, 2023, DHS announced that it would accelerate processing EAD applications filed by individuals who, beginning October 1, were paroled after arriving at a port of entry pursuit to a pre-scheduled scheduling an appointment through CBP One or were paroled through the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole processes. At the heart of this announcement was a commitment by USCIS to reduce the median processing times for EAD applications filed by individuals paroled through CHNV or after arriving at a port of entry pursuit to a pre-scheduled CBP One appointment from 90 days to 30 days.
- USCIS has largely fulfilled these commitments, with a median processing time of approximately 30 days.
- Between May 12, 2023 and March 13, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 617,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the Southwest Border, including more than 97,000 individual family members. The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2013.
Response from Senator Mark Kelly's Office:
“Senator Kelly is concerned that local resources are being strained as Arizona’s border communities continue bearing the cost of the migrant crisis. Our office is in contact with Yuma Area Fire Department representatives and is in constant communication with the Regional Center for Border Health in Somerton and other stakeholders critical to managing the situation at the border. Senator Kelly will continue pressing the administration to better address the border crisis and is working in the Senate to secure more resources for Arizona.”
Background information from Sen. Kelly's Office:
- This week, during a meeting in the City of Yuma with local officials, Kelly’s office received information from the Yuma Area Fire Department on migrant response cases and department needs.
- This week, Senator Kelly spoke to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the consequences of Southern Arizona communities and organizations running out of federal funds to respond to the border crisis.
- Last month, Senator Kelly spoke [kelly.senate.gov] on the Senate floor about Senate Republicans turning their backs on Arizona’s border crisis and failing to provide much needed resources on the ground.
- Senator Kelly continues to seek additional ways that the federal government can support local communities with additional resources.
Response from Senator Kyrsten Sinema's Office:
"Senator Sinema’s bipartisan border bill contained $1.4 billion, which would have helped Arizona border communities deal with the crisis. Unfortunately, partisans on both sides of the aisle rejected Senator Sinema’s bipartisan solution and instead voted for the status quo and the continued chaos at the border to score political points."
Response from Governor Katie Hobb's Office:
Governor Katie Hobbs today sent a letter to key leaders on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, stressing the critical need for immediate action to address the escalating crisis at Arizona's southern border.
In her letter to Senators Patty Murray, Susan Collins, and Representatives Kay Granger and Rosa DeLauro, Governor Hobbs echoed the urgent call made by Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema for a substantial allocation of no less than $752 million towards the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Shelter and Services Program (SSP) in the upcoming Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.
The additional money will make the border more secure and help local communities avoid a federal funding cliff that could threaten street releases due to federal inaction.
“Arizona's border is more than a convenient location for politicians to take photo ops and stage press conferences,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “It’s where my constituents live, work, and raise their families. My state has done everything possible to deliver safety and security to those communities, but we need Congress to step up and do its job. It is unacceptable that the security of everyday Arizonans has taken a backseat to political games in Washington, DC, forcing working families in my state to bear the burden of congressional inaction. It's time to prioritize practical solutions over political maneuvers.”
Governor Hobbs emphasized the critical role played by organizations like Pima County, Catholic Community Services, the Regional Center for Border Health in Yuma, and the International Rescue Committee in Phoenix and other non-profits. Due to funding constraints, these organizations risk being unable to sustain essential services beyond April 2024.
Additionally, Governor Hobbs urged Congress to consider the comprehensive funding proposals outlined in the Senate bipartisan border security agreement, which she highlighted as widely supported by organizations ranging from the Border Patrol Union to the Chamber of Commerce.