California governor pushes for fund to help asylum seekers

California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised San Diego County for providing a shelter for asylum seekers and said he wants the state to set up an emergency fund of $25 million to address what he has called a humanitarian crisis created by the federal government.

Speaking during a visit to San Diego yesterday, Newsom told reporters that $5 million should be made available this year - mostly to help San Diego's shelter.

He said his proposal is worded "loosely" to allow for flexibility in the spending but he believes the money is needed for a problem that won’t be going away in the near future.

The most immediate needs for now are in San Diego County, where humanitarian groups say they have aided more than 5,500 asylum seekers after the U.S. federal government started releasing migrants onto the streets.

The humanitarian organizations have been running a shelter for asylum seekers out of churches and other locations but the groups have had to move five times.

San Diego County officials on Tuesday agreed to allow an unused courthouse to be used as a shelter for asylum seekers. Most stay between 12 to 48 hours at the shelter before arranging airfare or bus tickets to their final destinations with