Migrant chaos unleashed! Title 42 expiration wreaks havoc: Somali Family Service in San Diego rushes to secure emergency funds!

Friday May 12, 2023

In a perplexing turn of events, Somali Family Services (SFS) of San Diego has issued an urgent plea for emergency funding as Title 42, the public health order that restricted asylum claims at the border, has been lifted. This move has left SFS preparing for an unprecedented surge in migrants, many of whom hail from Somalia and are in need of assistance.

SFS has been a crucial source of support for refugees and immigrants for over two decades, but the expiration of Title 42 is expected to put an intolerable amount of strain on its resources. Ahmed Sahid, the president and CEO of SFS, described the dire conditions that led people to migrate, including danger, violence, injury, starvation, and dehydration — among other appalling circumstances too graphic to describe. He went on to explain that, without appropriate funding, SFS’s ability to help the increasing number of migrants who approach them will be unsustainable.

To provide vital services to migrants, emergency funding is urgently required. This includes providing emergency shelters, food, infant diapers, hygiene products, clothing, language interpretation and translation, technical support, transportation, medical care through mobile health clinics, legal aid, and trauma-informed care. Sahid also stressed the need for a coordinated effort with stakeholders throughout San Diego to deal with the impending crisis. Unfortunately, the increase in migration leaves people wandering from neighbourhood to neighbourhood without resource navigation and support services, which is burdensome for the county’s resources and contributes to the humanitarian crisis. “A collaborative approach is the best solution,” he said.