Why This Matters
At the height of record migration to the U.S., federal grants helped these agencies and nonprofits shelter newly arrived migrants. Now, they’re being investigated for it. And the names of the migrants they helped could be on a shortlist for Trump’s deportation agenda.
The Trump administration is reviewing San Diego County and organizations awarded federal grants to shelter migrants, suggesting they may have violated human smuggling laws and requesting information on all migrants served through the grant.
The Department of Homeland Security has “significant concerns” the recipients of the grant “may be guilty of encouraging or inducing an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States” in violation of federal criminal law, said Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in a letter sent to a county official on March 11.
In the letter, obtained by inewsource, Hamilton cited parts of United States Code Section 1324, which is commonly used to prosecute human smugglers and carries a potential sentence of years in prison for encouraging someone to illegally enter the U.S., transporting or harboring them.
The letter could foreshadow increasing legal challenges from the Trump administration against groups that sheltered or cared for recently arrived migrants in the U.S. In Trump’s first term, authorities charged humanitarian aid workers who provided food and water to migrants in the desert along the border with smuggling related crimes.
The letter also raises concerns that the migrants served through the FEMA grant could be on the shortlist for Trump’s mass deportation plan.
Hamilton asked that the county respond within 30 days with the names, contact information and any other documents on migrants served through the grant funding and a “descriptive list of specific services provided.”
FEMA, which administered the grant along with Customs and Border Protection, will monitor grant recipients and withhold payments. Leaders of agencies and organizations that received that grant must now sign an affidavit saying they don’t have knowledge or suspicion of violating federal smuggling laws.
Similar letters were sent to recipients of the grant across the country, according to news reports. Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, the largest local recipient of the grant, also confirmed receiving a letter. The third local grantee, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, did not respond to an inquiry into whether it received the letter.
Under the Biden administration, the Shelter Services Program grant awarded money to local governments and other groups over two years to provide temporary services to newly arrived migrants who were processed and documented by immigration officials. The funding followed a period of record migration to the U.S. where communities struggled at times to handle the influxes.
San Diego County was allocated $19.6 million in funds through the grant – but it never actually received those funds, which are reimbursed to agencies after services are provided. The Board of Supervisors planned to open a migrant welcome center with the money, but those plans ultimately fizzled in 2024 after months of negotiation.
“The County did not start a new program, so never sought reimbursement for funds spent,” Tammy Glenn, director of the county’s communications office, told inewsource Wednesday.
Catholic Charities received about $70 million in federal grant funding over two fiscal years to provide services for migrants in San Diego County and another $5.8 million for migrants in Imperial County. Over a period of about two-and-a-half years through late 2023, their shelters served more than 252,000 migrants with food, medical care and case management.
Catholic Charities CEO Vino Pajanor told inewsource that the diocese leadership is reviewing the FEMA letter.
Jewish Family Service received $22 million in grant funding in the 2024 fiscal year. Its shelter, which has been operating since 2018, has served another 250,000 people.
Migrants from around the world, many of them families traveling with young children, often crossed into San Diego County from Mexico with little food, money or resources. The shelters offered a place to sleep, meals, medical care and transportation so that migrants could quickly leave San Diego to arrive at final destinations across the U.S.
When the shelters reached capacity, immigration officials left migrants at transit stations around San Diego County – scenes that ignited frustration from the public and local leaders who sometimes warred over what role the local government should play in supporting the migrants.
Migrant crossings along the southwest border have since dropped to relatively low levels. In February, Border Patrol agents made close to 12,000 encounters, down from nearly 190,000 the year prior.
Last week, Catholic Charities announced it would be laying off staff after reduced demand for shelter beds. In February, Jewish Family Service paused its own shelter services.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
