Days after President Joe Biden announced the United States will begin to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson sent a letter to the federal government requesting financial assistance.
San Diego County will join other metropolitan areas in accepting people fleeing Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, according to Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher, who made the announcement last week. The county would build upon county assistance already provided to asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Ukraine who crossed from Mexico into the U.S.
"As the number of people fleeing Ukraine continues to increase, coupled with your recent decision to admit 100,000 refugees into the U.S., the citizens of San Diego are once again willing to welcome the displaced with open arms,'' Anderson wrote to the president. "However, to do so successfully will require additional funding from the administration to support this population.''
In his request to Biden, Anderson requests the federal government to provide funding to counties proportional to the number of refugees they are receiving to help cover resettlement costs. He also requested the use of any frozen Russian government assets to fund needed resources for the Ukrainian refugee populations.
Anderson said that Title 42, a mass migrant expulsion order implemented by the Trump Administration, may effect a “substantial increase in the number of immigrants entering the U.S. at the San Diego-Tijuana port of entry, commenting on the idea of rolling it back.
The influx of people "will likely burden the already overwhelmed resettlement agencies and community organizations working to welcome both immigrants and refugees into our nation," according to a statement from Anderson’s office.
