Help Raise Money to Shelter Asylum-Seekers

Help Raise Money to Shelter Asylum-Seekers

Organized by Ian Seruelo and APALA San Diego

UPDATE:

10/09/2023

We have raised $2,710 so far as of this date. Out of this amount, we already spent $1,600 to shelter 62 asylum-seekers who are still figuring out their travel arrangements to their final destination in the US. So, we have $1,100 left of the funds raised so far. This situation is not expected to end anytime soon, as 300 to 600 migrants continue to be released by CBP in the streets of San Diego every day. APALA continues to collaborate with many other organizations on the ground to provide humanitarian assistance and welcome our siblings from around the world with dignity. Hence, we are updating our target from $3,000 to $5,000, and need to continue efforts to raise funds. Thank you for your solidarity and support!

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Hi, my name is Ian Seruelo and a resident of San Diego. I am a member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and sits on the advisory board of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC).

Along with many other immigrant rights and human rights organizations, community groups, coalitions, and concerned individuals in San Diego, we have supported the efforts to welcome asylum-seekers who arrived at different points at the US southern border since September 10, 2023 . For the past two weeks now, we have joined the efforts at the San Ysidro border to provide food, water, blankets, medicines, and all other needs of migrants, who have come from different parts of the world including India, Sudan, Senegal, China, Turkey, Colombia, Venezuela, Cameroon, Guinea, Angola, Vietnam, Peru, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Brazil, Mauritania, Honduras, Iran, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Georgia, Russia, Costa Rica, and Kazakhstan.

After processing these asylum seekers, CBP (Customs & Border Protection) sends them to different shelters in San Diego. However, when shelters reached their capacity on September 14, CBP began releasing migrants off the streets to practically fend off for themselves. Again, immigrant rights organizations and concerned residents responded by setting up aid centers at these street drop-off locations to assist these migrants in arranging for their travel to their final destination, providing transportation to airport, providing food and shelter, setting up of charging and internet stations, providing interpreters, and reuniting separated families.

The problem is that not all are able to afford hotels or need assistance in paying for their fares. Hence, we are asking for your help to raise money to provide short-term shelter, and fare assistance to asylum seekers in need.

Amidst the apparent inaction of local government entities, we continue to insist that every human being should be treated with respect and dignity.