Thousands of migrants could be released in days as federal funding for Arizona shelters runs dry after record number of crossings over border

More than a thousand migrants could be released every day in Arizona as federal funding for shelters runs dry.

Aid workers have warned of 'homelessness on steroids' in a matter of days when the $1 million per week of government funds are cut off.

Non-profits and local government have historically been working with border patrol agents  to transport asylum seekers to facilities such as Casa Alitas in Tucson, Arizona, or the Regional Center for Border Health in Yuma.

But with the funding due to expire on March 31 there are fears of disorder at the border, which has already seen record numbers of crossings.

'There is already a difficult homeless problem in Pima County that we are working tirelessly to solve or mitigate,' Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said in a memo.

More than a thousand migrants could be released every day in Arizona as federal funding for shelters runs dry

Aid workers have warned of ' homelessness on steroids' in a matter of days when the $1 million per week of government funds are cut off

Non-profits and local government have historically been working with border patrol agents to transport asylum seekers to shelters

 'What we are about to experience with street releases is homelessness on steroids.' 

She warned up to 400 migrants a day could be released onto the streets of Tucson without additional shelter space, rising to more than 1,000 a day during peak times.

'I think that's going to lead to a lot of chaos, and a lot more cost across the board for folks to get services, as many of the people coming through leave fairly quickly here,' Casa Alitas executive director Piña Lopez told The Arizona Republic.

There were a record breaking 2.47 million migrant encounters at the southern border in the fiscal year 2023.

More than 250,000 migrants were apprehended in the Tucson sector, during the first four months of this fiscal year - the most of any sector patrolled by border agents.

The border crisis has become a flash point of the upcoming election with both Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for its escalation. 

The GOP has continuously criticized the Biden administration for what it deems to be lax border policies which have resulted in a record number of crossings.

Meanwhile Democrats have accused Republicans of blocking a bipartisan Senate bill which would have strengthened border funding at the behest of Donald Trump.

But with the funding due to expire on March 31 there are fears of disorder at the border, which has already seen record numbers of crossings

There were a record breaking 2.47 million migrant encounters at the southern border in the fiscal year 2023

Democrat Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs previously told lawmakers her state needs at least $752 million in federal funding to keep shelters operational

Former President Trump railed against the deal, dismissing it as a 'Democrat trap,' and 'one of the dumbest bills' he'd ever seen. Trump affirmed that he'd 'rather have no bill than a bad bill.'

President Biden countered that Republicans were 'playing politics' with the border, and that he was prepared 'to secure the border.'

When Republicans withdrew their support for the border deal, Democrats suggested that they did so to please Trump.

Over the weekend, Congress passed a bill allocating $650 million to replenish the Shelter and Services Program. 

Democrat Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs previously told lawmakers her state needs at least $752 million in federal funding to keep shelters operational.

In a scathing open letter last year, Hobbs demanded $512 million in federal funds to reimburse state spending on migrant transport, drug interdiction, and law enforcement 'due to the federal government's failure to secure our border.' 

On Friday, Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said the allocation granted 'is significantly below last year's enacted level and far below the demonstrated need of impacted communities.'

'Pima County and other Arizona border communities need resources right now, and they cannot afford to have those resources caught up in bureaucratic red tape,' he wrote in  a letter to In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

'I strongly urge you to act quickly and decisively on their behalf.'