Buzzfeed News

March 6, 2021

Gerson handed the border officer his Honduran passport and placed his fingertips on a small scanner. This was the last hurdle before his family could escape the kidnapping, threats, and extortion they had endured in Mexico while trying to gain asylum in the US. Now, he and hundreds of other asylum-seekers who spent months holding onto a sliver of hope while being forced by the Trump administration to wait in Mexico are entering the US. Kate Clark, the senior director of immigration services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said the group has taken in nearly 300 people who were previously stuck in Mexico under the Trump administration policy.

CNN

March 3, 2021

Stuck in Mexico for nearly a year under the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, asylum seeker Nicholas was finally able to cross into the United States, thanks to an executive order from President Joe Biden. Featuring an interview with CEO Michael Hopkins.

VOA

March 2, 2021

Esperanzas infundadas, siguen llegando inmigrantes a una frontera estadounidense que no se abre; familias separadas en la frontera, una nueva controversia en Estados Unidos; se refuerza la batalla para producir más vacunas para los estadounidenses y el Departamento de Estado emite informe con la clasificación de países que fracasaron en la lucha antidrogas.

CBS News

February 20, 2021

CEO Michael Hopkins is interviewed in this coverage of the first 25 Latin American asylum seekers who were granted entry at the San Ysidro port of entry and will be allowed to stay in the country for the duration of their proceedings. The Jewish Family Service of San Diego received the asylum applicants, who were required to test negative for the coronavirus, and transported them to a hotel in the area so they could quarantine, according to the non-profit's chief executive officer, Michael Hopkins. The group included six families and five individuals from Honduras, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Cuba.

The San Diego Union-Tribune

February 19, 2021

Two years and 21 days after the first asylum seeker was walked back from San Diego to Tijuana under the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program, a small group of asylum seekers was escorted in the other direction to wait out immigration court cases in the United States. CEO Michael Hopkins said, “This is a really different experience than 2½ years ago, when we got the call on our hotline that moms and kids were on the streets of San Diego.”

Times of San Diego

February 19, 2021

“We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration and we are optimistic that this is the first of many steps to rebuild our immigration system and restore the asylum process,” said JFS and its partners in the San Diego Rapid Response Network.

Telmundo 20 - Immigrantes En La Frontera

February 19, 2021

Un grupo de 25 migrantes que cruzaron por la frontera de San Diego y Tijuana estuvieron entre los primeros solicitantes de asilo que se les permitió entrar a Estados Unidos bajo los nuevos cambios de la administración Biden que comenzaron este viernes.

NBC

February 19, 2021

At least 25 migrants who have been waiting in Mexico for months while they seek asylum in the U.S. have been allowed into the country, part of the Biden administration efforts to roll back the Trump-era policy known as "Remain in Mexico." CEO Michael Hopkins is interviewed.

Border Report, Fox 5 San Diego

February 19, 2021

In this video interview, CEO Michael Hopkins discusses the critical support role Jewish Family Service is playing in welcoming asylum-seekers into San Diego before they take a plane or bus to their final destinations in the U.S.

Reuters

February 19, 2021

A group of 25 asylum seekers was allowed into the United States on Friday, a United Nations official said, the start of efforts to unwind one of former President Donald Trump’s most restrictive immigration policies, which forced thousands to wait in Mexico for their U.S. cases to be heard. Jewish Family Service will provide services to the migrants once they are in the U.S.

KPBS

February 19, 2021

CEO Michael Hopkins speaks on behalf of Jewish Family Service’s efforts as part of the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) to provide services for many more asylum seekers as the numbers start to increase.

The Wall Street Journal

February 19, 2021

Biden administration officials had stressed in English and Spanish communications that only people contacted ahead of time would be allowed in Friday while others needed to register online and wait. A San Diego aid group working with the returning migrants said they received a total of 25 people Friday.

CNN

February 19, 2021

Once migrants crossed the border, organizations in the region took over, including Jewish Family Service, a non-profit organization that works with migrants and has a leading role in the effort. The asylum seekers who arrived Friday were transported to a hotel in San Diego where they'll quarantine for a period before relocating, said Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

February 13, 2021

Advocates point to misleading media reports, rumors and smugglers’ lies encouraging asylum seekers to try crossing before policy changes are in place. Even the plan announced Friday will not address the thousands more who were waiting, because of other Trump policies, for the opportunity to request asylum in the first place. Since November, staff with Jewish Family Service, which runs a migrant shelter in San Diego, has seen a trickle of families like Mercedes’ released to their care. In the past week or so, the number of families received by Jewish Family Service has increased, though the numbers are still much lower than other times in the shelters’ history. Most of these additional families were caught crossing illegally into the United States by Border Patrol, according to Kate Clark of Jewish Family Service.

Telemundo 20

February 9, 2021

Llegan más a la frontera. Incluye una entrevista con Kate Clark del equipo de inmigración de Jewish Family Service.

Border Report

February 9, 2021

Since January, hundreds of migrant families seeking asylum have found themselves north of the border after being released by Border Patrol agents. JFS is leading the response in San Diego, together with our partners at the San Diego Rapid Response Network. Interview with JFS Border Service Advocate, Eitan Peled.

The New York Times

February 6, 2021

Frontpage story in The New York Times reports how JFS is creating the model for how to welcome the stranger while protecting public health during a pandemic.

Buzzfeed News

February 5, 2021

The changes to how immigrant families are being processed appear to only be happening in some parts of the border. JFS’s Senior Director of Immigration, Kate Clark, reports a sizeable increase in asylum seekers in January compared to the past ten months.

CNN

January 28, 2021

While the Biden Administration has taken very positive first steps to end the Remain in Mexico program, there is still more to do to get families out of danger. Kate Clark, JFS Senior Director of Immigration, is interviewed about the increasing confusion and danger for those waiting in Mexico.

Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune

January 21, 2021

Focusing on the thousands of asylum seekers who have been trapped due to policies and the pandemic, Kate Morrisey interviews one family who is in Tijuana facing great danger and seeking assistance for their son. Our attorneys are actively trying to help.