TUCSON — Pima County says federal funding to assist migrants will run out on March 31 of this year.
After that date, anywhere from 400 to 1,000 migrants could be released in Tucson a day with no resources, according to a memo sent by County Administrator Jan Lesher.
She says instead of going to Casa Alitas, Customs and Border Protection will drop them at the Greyhound bus station just east of downtown Tucson.
Federal migrant money is running out in Tucson.
— Adam Klepp (@AdamKleppAZ) February 20, 2024
Tonight on @kgun9 I'm breaking down a memo from the county that says after March 31 anywhere from 400-1,000 migrants will be released in Tucson with no resources. pic.twitter.com/AMJNe6jd7n
"Individuals simply wait at the bus station until they can move on," Lesher said.
The county looked into other sites where migrants could be released, like at the county fairgrounds and a building on Mission by the jail.
But the cost to run them was $3-$7 million a month and would cut into other county programs.
“We’re going to have people who literally cross and have nowhere to go," Board of Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva said.
"It’s a tough decision but we can’t fund any of those alternatives without federal dollars," Lesher said.
The county has been helping receive the released migrants since 2019, but all of the funding for their services has come from D.C.
Supervisor Grijalva believes the funding ended for political reasons, and now the community will have to deal with the consequences of federal inaction on the border.
“On April 1st, the doors to our Drexel facility will be closed. Casa Alitas will not be providing the services they are providing," Grijalva said. "And we as a community will have to look into other options.”
The supervisors said they’ll continue to ask their federal partners for help with managing the migrants being released into Pima County.
CBP has not responded to our requests to confirm the Greyhound station is where they will drop off migrants if the federal funding runs out.
