Broken immigration system

Supervisor Jim Desmond

5th District

Over the past two months, many people have asked me, what is the actual situation at our southern border? The fact is the immigration process is completely broken.

In the past two months, over 40,000 migrants have been dropped in San Diego County. These are the numbers that we know about and don't include the "Gotaways," which have been over 1.5 million in the past five years.

Due to the end of Title 42, which used to keep asylum seekers in Mexico, our Border Patrol agents are becoming de facto travel agents assisting the migrants to their destination somewhere in the United States. This is a broken immigration system and flawed laws are making it worse.

The other question I often receive is, what can we do to stop this? Reach out to your Congressional representative. They're the ones who ultimately have the authority to fix this broken immigration system. San Diegans should not shoulder the burden of the Federal Government's ineptness.

Last month, the Board of Supervisors approved $3 million local tax dollars for migrant resources. I was against this proposal as I don't believe local tax dollars, meant to be spent on roads, homelessness, and other pressing needs, should be spent on a federal issue. The $3 million is due to run out soon, and I am strongly opposed to spending more money on this problem with no end in sight.