San Diego's efforts to welcome migrants with open arms are hitting a snag as the SBCS-operated welcome center is set to close its doors on February 22, despite receiving $6 million in county funds earmarked to sustain operations until the end of March. This premature shutdown has raised eyebrows among local community leaders, as reported by FOX 5 San Diego.

The center, which has provided vital services such as food, water, clothing as well as aiding asylum seekers in reaching their sponsor families, now faces a resource crunch that nonprofit CEO Kathie Lembo acknowledged, stating "As the number of migrants arriving at the center has increased significantly over the last few weeks, our finite resources have been stretched to the limit, leading to the closure of the center" as per an interview obtained by ABC 10News, thereby leaving many to wonder about the logistical planning and financial management of the center.

Pedro Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee, criticized the county's approach to the migrant crisis, arguing the absence of a transition plan and expressing concerns over the center's closure that "is not how a border region, a border county like San Diego County, should be treating people who are passing through," a keen observation he shared with FOX 5 San Diego. The closure is particularly concerning for San Diego's status as a border community where the interception of migrants' paths with the local populace creates a web of communal and governmental obligations are there is a dire need for sustained humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer lamented the lack of federal action, adding that the county’s hope was for the welcome center to act as a bridge until Congressional funding materialized, an outcome still pending which stirs up her disappointment "to see the way in which these critical issues that matter so much to San Diego as a border community are being manipulated for political gain at a national level by people who are not impacted," Terra Lawson-Remer pointed out to ABC 10News. Yet with time ticking and doors set to close, what fate lies ahead for migrants and the local organizations possibly shouldering this responsibility must be clearly defined.

There has been no response from Customs & Border Protection regarding whether migrants will once again be dropped off at transit centers across the county. This practice was common before the center opened, which now shadows the future with uncertainty and challenges local and national agencies to step up as the county's short-lived respite fades into the backdrop of the larger immigration debate in America.