San Diego County is being taken advantage of

The federal government is taking advantage of San Diego County and it shows no

sign of stopping. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been briefed on the situation at our

Southern Border. After seeing the heartbreaking pictures of kids in cramped

quarters and the increased risk of being sexually trafficked, I’ve been deeply

troubled by many aspects.

After learning that the state and the federal government are also refusing to test those entering the United States for COVID-19, I’m worried for the safety of our entire region.

San Diegans have worked so hard to get into the Orange tier, we have put

businesses and livelihoods on hold for this pandemic. But in order to get into the

yellow tier, we need less than two people per 100,000 testing positive. With

hundreds of untested migrants entering San Diego, it’s inevitable that our

numbers will rise.

At a recent Board meeting, I made the motion that the County Board of Supervisors write a letter to our federal delegation, and to the White House stating that before any migrants are released into our community, they need to be tested and quarantined if positive or exposed.

Also, at a May Board meeting, I voted against the County using local tax dollars to

provide legal representation to detained immigrants at our border. My reasoning,

we don’t provide legal representation to American citizens when it comes to

complex issues like the U.S. Tax Court, Medicare hearings, and Social Security

hearings. Plus, I believe that the $5 million that is being used for the program

could be better spent addressing homelessness, behavioral health, fixing roads or

other local issues.

My heart breaks for all of the kids and immigrants trying to enter the United

States and I believe we should help where we can. But we also must protect our

citizens and keep them safe from COVID-19. The border is a federal issue and

compassionate San Diegans are once again are having to step up and stop gap a

much bigger issue.