The San Diego County Board of Trustees is suing Trump administration against asylum seekers after the end of parole

The Republican-dominated San Diego County Supervisory Council on Wednesday launched a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying that policy changes in the way the federal government treats asylum seekers have put a strain on the finances and health services of the city.

The Trump administration ended the so-called "Safe Release" program in October, which offers asylum-seekers who have crossed the border assistance to travel to final destinations with family members and friends, the report said. pursuit.

"At present, a large number of asylum seekers and their accompanying family members are forced to remain in the county, without sufficient means to support themselves, as the defendants have abruptly stopped working. help asylum seekers reach their final destination, "reads. "In response to the sudden and illegal policy change of the defendants … the county has been forced to spend substantial funds and other resources to provide medical screening and care to asylum seekers."

The lawsuit, which was filed in a district court in Southern California, is a new reprimand for immigration policies and the Trump administration's harsh speech by a border town.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has been named in the lawsuit, alongside agencies such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to a request for comment.

In February, the County Council decided to sue the Trump administration for the end of the program. The vote was raised to four votes to one, and three of the four Republicans on the board joined a newly elected Democrat to support it.

In Nogales, Arizona, officials have officially condemned the installation of six rows of razor wire installed by soldiers on the US side of the existing border fence in the city, fearing to make residents less safe. In El Paso, county officials passed a resolution claiming they were disillusioned with President Trump's claims about supposed lawlessness and the dangers of the border.

[Trump’s troop deployment strung ‘lethal’ razor wire on the border. This city has had enough.]

In San Diego, with the end of the Safe Release program, the county had to find a place to house 20 to 30 family units (60 to 80 parents and children) released daily in the county since October 2018, according to the newspaper. the complaint. Since December, county health workers have been monitoring asylum seekers, many of whom are staying in a county-created shelter in a former courthouse he rented to a non-profit organization. According to the lawsuit, about 75 screenings are conducted each day by 14 county employees assigned to the shelter.

"We have an obligation to take care of those families who have suffered so much. We can not let them become victims of human trafficking or become homeless, "said supervisor Nathan Fletcher, a newly elected Democrat whose district includes the shelter. "It's the responsibility of the federal government. This crisis is entirely created by Donald Trump's inhuman immigration policies. "

Fletcher said 11,000 legal asylum seekers have been going through shelters in San Diego since November, with an average length of stay of 72 hours.

Before the end of the parole policy, "ICE would transport itinerant asylum seekers directly to the departure points of the agreed-upon mode of transportation, including bus stations, train stations and airports, thus facilitating the process of liberation. ICE would also provide a minimum amount of food to asylum seekers for their journey to their final destination, "says the lawsuit.

Other supervisors did not return requests for comments.

The county has spent more than $ 1.3 million on downtown construction, Dianne Jacob, Chair of the Review Commission, wrote on Twitter.

"The careless approach of the federal government to refugee claimants weighs heavily on taxpayers in San Diego County," she said.