‘We do expect increases,’ RIVCO prepares for impact of migrant influx as Title 42 policy ends
Riverside County officials are expecting an increase in the number of asylum seekers they assist following the expiration of Title 42, which had been a longtime coming.
Since it was enacted more than 3 years ago, the policy has allowed the U.S. to expel migrants more than 3 million times at the southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The county and local nonprofits, primarily the Galilee Center in Mecca, are preparing for the influx.
Together, the two entities typically provide migrants with basic resources including food and shelter, as well as help arrange onward transportation to their final destination.
However, constraints on shelter space has led CBP to release migrants into communities throughout Riverside County, including in the Coachella Valley.
“We’ve seen where some of the other jurisdictions have been overrun. We certainly don’t want that. We want to continue to help get them as quickly as possible to their sponsors so that they can be processed and go on with whatever the resolution of their asylum process is,” said Shane Reichardt with the RIVCO Emergency Management Department.
News Channel 3’s Jennifer Franco will be live in El Centro tonight with details on the situation along the southern border there.
Tune in starting at 4:00 p.m. for a closer look at what impacts the end of Title 42 is expected to have on resources in Riverside County.
