VIEW LARGER People wait for assistance at a shelter that's part of the Casa Alitas program on March 1, 2024. Since the Trump Administration shut down the system for immigrants to apply for asylum in the US, the flow of migrants into Pima County’s two “respite centers” has dried up.
In the next few days, the county’s shelter on Drexel Road and the Casa Alitas shelter on Ajo Way will see their final asylum-seekers head off to live with relatives somewhere in the US. Then the shelters will turn out their lights and lock the doors, after six years, and 500 thousand migrants.
There was no announcement from the government, says county supervisor Rex Scott. The Border Patrol buses just stopped coming.
“Certainly this change in administration is presenting some challenges but we have been dealing with an array of challenges for the last 6 years," Scott said.
Since 2019 the county has gotten nearly $120 million in federal funding for the two “respite centers,” But that money is based on occupancy. No occupants means no funding.
Scott doesn’t know what the county will do if the government decides to reopen asylum applications.
“We would have to explore our options at that point," Scott said.
The two shelters are expected to empty out this weekend.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.