San Diego Closes Migrant Shelters Amid Decrease in Asylum Seekers – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
4:26 PM – Tuesday, April 1, 2025
A large migrant shelter in San Diego, California, is shutting down as the region has experienced a sharp decrease in asylum seekers since President Donald Trump returned to office.
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According to CBS8 News San Diego, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley is reverting back to standard hotel operations and will no longer function as a migrant shelter.
Reports indicate that the migrant shelter was managed by Catholic Charities.
This recent closure follows an announcement from the Jewish Family Service of San Diego in February that it would cease operations at its center, resulting in the layoffs of 115 employees due to “changes in federal funding and policy.”
“Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) is adapting to the shifting needs of the community in light of recent and expected federal policy changes,” the organization stated previously. “With a firm commitment to our core value of ‘Welcome the Stranger,’ JFS is now concentrating its immigration efforts on offering pro bono legal services and community support resources.”
The shelter had served as a regional migrant shelter in San Diego County for more than six years before its closure.
The non-governmental organization has reported that it has not received any new asylum-seeking families or individuals since the CBP One mobile app was discontinued when Trump resumed the presidency.
The app, which allowed immigrants to gain entry into the U.S., was originally developed during Trump’s first term to assist with scheduling cargo inspections.
In 2023, the app was enhanced to facilitate appointments at ports of entry, meant initially as a loophole from the Title 42 public health order. Since last May, migrants had the opportunity to enter the U.S. via “lawful pathways,” as the Biden administration outlined at the time.
Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol agents have reported a staggering 95% reduction in migrant encounters since February.
According to the Los Angeles Times, arrests have dwindled from more than 1,200 daily during the Biden administration’s peak last April to only 30 to 40 a day now.
“Describing this as a significant change would be an understatement,” stated Jeffrey Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent for the San Diego sector, in a conversation with the newspaper.
At the end of December, over 936,000 migrants had utilized the app to schedule their entry, as reported by Customs and Border Protection.
“With migrants no longer able to access the CBP One application, the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) Migrant Shelter Services, administered by JFS, has not received any new asylum-seeking families or individuals released from short-term federal detention for our support. Because of these shifts in federal funding and policy, the SDRRN Migrant Shelter Services will be on hold until we have a clearer understanding of future community needs,” the statement clarified.
In 2024, SDRRN was allocated $22,077,365 in taxpayer-funded FEMA money, despite claims of not receiving any funds, according to grant records available on the FEMA website.
Other cities nationwide have also shut down their migrant shelters, including Denver, which closed four shelters, announcing its intention to “consolidate shelters to save millions for the city.”
As reported by the New York Post, during the final weeks of the Biden administration, 400-500 new migrants sought aid from the city weekly.
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