Closure of Tucson Asylum Seeker Facilities Amid Federal Funding Concerns
In a significant policy shift, Pima County officials have decided to close two facilities in Tucson that have been pivotal in accommodating asylum seekers from the border. This decision follows a substantial decrease in daily arrivals and concerns about federal funding reimbursements.
Since 2019, the city of Tucson and Pima County have jointly managed facilities providing transportation, temporary shelter, and essential services to asylum seekers released by the Border Patrol. According to Pima County spokesman Mark Evans, these efforts have been supported by approximately $117 million in federal funding from the Shelter and Services Program (SSP).
Evans highlighted the funding challenges, stating, “And all of those costs are currently reimbursed by the federal government, well, under SSP, we could not get reimbursed for those costs if there’s no one there.” This situation arose when shelters received no new arrivals on a recent Monday, a stark contrast to the previous months when around 70 asylum seekers arrived daily.
The decline in arrivals follows the implementation of new asylum restrictions under the Biden administration. The numbers are a significant drop from the winter of 2023, when up to 1,000 individuals were arriving daily at the Tucson facilities.
The county’s expenditures for shelter operations have also seen a decline, with costs reducing from over a million dollars per week at the end of 2023 to approximately $138,000 per week by the end of the previous year.
Without consistent daily arrivals, the county faces uncertainty in securing ongoing federal reimbursements. Additionally, executive actions from President Donald Trump may further complicate federal aid funding due to potential audits of local efforts. These factors have led to the decision to cease operations at the shelters by midnight on Sunday.
County administrator Jan Lesher, in a memo to supervisors, emphasized the program’s importance, stating, “Without the county’s leading role coordinating and obtaining the funding for the Temporary Shelter Program, more than a half-million people over the past six and a half years would have been left to fend for themselves on the streets of Tucson, Nogales, Douglas, and elsewhere in southern Arizona.”
Rex Scott, Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, reflected on the anticipated changes with the Trump administration, noting, “As soon as he took office and issued the executive orders that he did, we knew we needed to move quickly.” Recent executive actions have included ending the CBP One asylum process at the border.
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