Jewish Family Service of San Diego

June 18, 2024

JFS recognizes the anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and applauds President Biden’s executive order as a significant step to help keep families together and provide stability for many immigrant families who contribute to our local community.

ABC 7

June 14, 2024

While thousands of people seeking asylum in the U.S. wait in shelters in Mexico, hundreds who have already been granted the opportunity to begin that process through the CBP One app have found a safe landing place at the San Diego Rapid Response Network migrant shelter operated by Jewish Family Service of San Diego. Read the story of one family who escaped political persecution and found safety at the SDRRN migrant shelter.

The San Diego Union-Tribune

June 8, 2024

As San Diego remains the top spot for border crossings and struggles with limited shelter space for asylum seekers, many individuals find themselves on the streets, ultimately becoming part of the city's homeless system. "Providing respite shelter actually prevents individuals from being on the streets," said Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services at Jewish Family Service. "We are unfortunately caught between two broken systems: the immigration system and the homeless system."

SDRRN

May 10, 2024

Today, on Mexican Mother’s Day, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC) sent a Mother’s Day petition signed by more than 870 advocacy organizations and individuals to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Troy Miller. The petition demands changes in CBP policy to minimize harm to people who are pregnant, postpartum and nursing in the agency’s custody.

KPBS

April 25, 2024

Earlier this month, the San Diego region was given nearly $40 million from the federal government’s Shelter and Services Program to help the migrant population. The money is split in half between San Diego County and Catholic Charities of San Diego and Jewish Family Service, organizations that has run migrant shelters in San Diego for years. Now that the money has been awarded, advocates want to see a collaborative approach between all levels of government and local service providers to come up with a lasting migrant welcome program.

CBS 8

April 25, 2024

FEMA announced our region will receive more than $39 million as part of its Shelter and Services program, half of which the county is getting directly. "There is a gap of about $11.8 million, even just to maintain the existing infrastructure that we have in our community. And so again, it's really a critical opportunity for the county to come alongside organizations like Jewish Family Service and Catholic Charities, in addition to those advocates and organizations that are supporting for the folks that are being released to the streets of San Diego,” said Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services at JFS.

Fox 5 San Diego

April 25, 2024

Jewish Family Service says it has helped 200,000 migrants in transit through San Diego County since 2018, providing them with temporary shelter, meals and transportation to their final destinations across the U.S. When county funding ran out in late February, JFS did not stop aiding asylum-seekers. “Organizations like Jewish Family Service in San Diego, Catholic Charities, Immigrant defenders, Al Otro Lado, Haitian Bridge Alliance, the list goes on for organizations that continue to step forward in the absences of funding,” said Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services with JFS. Learn more on how you can help ensure San Diego remains a welcoming place for those in search of a safer life—free from violence and persecution.

The San Diego Union-Tribune

April 25, 2024

Local migrant services groups are urging San Diego County leaders to collaborate with those working directly with migrants on the ground before deciding how to spend its recent $19.6 millions allocation from the federal government. “It is our expectation that we’re able to think through a regional plan that hopefully gets to a place of avoiding street releases,” said Kate Clark, senior director of immigration services for Jewish Family Service of San Diego, “but in order to do that, the organizations that are closest to the work really need to inform the county how they can put forth a plan to the federal government to use these funds.”

Times of San Diego

April 25, 2024

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would offer $39.2 million in new federal funding to the San Diego region as part of its Shelter and Services Program. But there are now concerns that the very groups which built these advocacy networks locally are being left out of discussion. Learn more on how you can help ensure San Diego remains a welcoming place for those in search of a safer life—free from violence and persecution.

Press Release

April 25, 2024

This blueprint for humanitarian reception was developed by the Women’s Refugee Commission and the Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD). Over the last five-plus years, JFSSD has adapted and expanded its shelter network and services to serve more than 201,000 people seeking safety. This respite shelter network serves as a road map for how governments and communities across the US can build upon the experiences and lessons learned from the model in San Diego.

KPBS

April 18, 2024

In this segment, reporter Gustavo Solis addresses the current announcement of federal funding, including using some of the funds to start a migrant transit center and to support current shelters operated by Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Service. Kate Clark, Sr. Director of Immigration Services is interviewed.

SDRRN

April 15, 2024

The San Diego Rapid Response Network calls for collaboration with the County of San Diego regarding specifics on the allocations of federal funds and next steps for coordination of services to those seeking safety and temporary care in San Diego.

SDRRN

February 23, 2024

SDRRN Migrant Shelter Services’ resources and infrastructure are currently stretched to capacity. We cannot provide respite shelter and services to all the people seeking asylum that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is releasing. The shelter will continue receiving up to 300 of the most vulnerable asylum seekers released by DHS daily, including people with medical conditions, families, pregnant people, LGBTQI people, older adults, etc., as space allows.

Associated Press

January 5, 2024

Migrants are arriving in the U.S. under the Biden administration’s new “safe mobility offices.” The idea is to streamline the U.S. refugee process so migrants don’t give up and pay smugglers to make the journey north, further straining the U.S.-Mexico border, which has seen record-high numbers of crossings.

Los Angeles Times

December 15, 2023

Nearly 1,100 migrant families have been separated while being processed at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego since September, immigrant advocacy groups, including Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said in a letter sent Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security that seeks an investigation into the matter (Read Letter). The separations stem from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s ongoing practice of releasing high volumes of migrants to street locations around San Diego County without coordinated reception plans. “The trauma families experience during the periods of separation is compounded by CBP’s lack of communication and the near-total opacity of their practices,” states the letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s office of civil rights and civil liberties, which was also signed by the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, and Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

December 14, 2023

In the midst of significant increases of family separations at the San Diego border region, Al Otro Lado, ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC), Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, and Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD) filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) today with grave concerns about the number of families separated during and after asylum processing at the southern border.

ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Al Otro Lado, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy

December 14, 2023

We write with concerns about U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s practices relating to the processing of family groups at the southern border which result in harmful separations.

Media Statement

November 30, 2023

Starting in mid-September 2023 and continuing to this day, more than 20,000 people seeking asylum have been left at transit centers and other locations throughout the San Diego region without any resources. All asylum seekers should be welcomed compassionately with dignity and respect.

October 4, 2023

Miles4Migrants, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD), and San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) have teamed up to provide essential aid to asylum seekers left vulnerable on the streets of San Diego. This collaborative effort aims to facilitate 150 flights per week, offering a lifeline to these individuals and families, reuniting them with their loved ones across the United States.

ABC 10 News

October 3, 2023

A nonprofit called Miles4Migrants is turning donated points into free flights for asylum seekers who’ve arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in south San Diego County. “Our sense is that 98% of individuals actually have a point of contact or loved one outside of San Diego that they’re looking to connect with,” said Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego. Donate miles today by clicking here.