Two days after the mom gave birth in a San Diego hospital, the mother was given a choice: Go back to Mexico with or without her newborn, who is a U.S. citizen by birthright. “That’s not a choice. That’s not a legitimate choice,” said Mitra Ebadolahi, an attorney with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. She said the mother and the baby returned to Mexico.

Luis Gonzalez, Jewish Family Service Immigration Attorney, details why a family should not have been expelled to Mexico in this video interview.

“This family should have been granted release into the U.S. to await their asylum proceedings, as the Department of Homeland Security has done with more than 23,500 individuals – all in family units – over the past one and a half years across the San Diego border region,” Gonzalez said.

When an asylum-seeking family from Honduras crossed the border last month, Border Patrol agents separated the parents and quickly sent the father and young son to Mexico. The mother was sent to a hospital in Chula Vista where she gave birth. She was then returned to Tijuana a few days later with their newborn son — a U.S. citizen.
Attorneys with Jewish Family Service and the American Civil Liberties Union said that the family should’ve been allowed to wait for its asylum case in the United States.

“During the entire process, she was in pain from giving birth and she felt no choice but to go into Mexico,” the family’s attorney said.

“That’s not a choice. That’s not a legitimate choice,” said Mitra Ebadolahi, a lawyer with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “These people both, both the mother and the father, were literally driven in a patrol vehicle to the border and forced to walk across into Mexico by armed agents. I don’t see choices there.

On Friday, the ACLU and Jewish Family Service of San Diego filed a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, and a request to simply allow the family to enter the U.S. to continue their asylum process.

Last week, a federal appeals court and a district judge blocked a Trump policy to deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. border with Mexico without first seeking protection there.

Jewish Family Service wants the family released in the United States, where they have relatives, to argue their asylum case in court. Together with the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, the group plans to ask the Homeland Security Department to investigate what happened.

JFS is urgently calling for additional volunteer drivers to help deliver freshly prepared meals and shelf-stable food packages to isolated, at-risk seniors throughout San Diego County.

For many in San Diego, making ends meet is a daily challenge. This is especially true for our community’s most vulnerable: struggling families, older adults, people experiencing homelessness, and undocumented immigrants. And this hardship has been even further compounded by the COVID-19 crisis. Jewish Family Service is committed to meeting San Diego’s ever-changing needs, assisting people of all faiths, backgrounds, and ages.

JFS was named a Super Pantry. Sasha Escue, Director of Nutrition Services, is interviewed at our no-touch, no-contact food distribution that takes place every weekday at the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus. Click below for an article and video of the story.

Tom Stewart, Hand Up Food Pantry Coordinator, is recognized as a front-line hero in this testimonial.

In this op-ed, CEO Michael Hopkins and Ellen J. Neufeldt, President of California State University San Marcos, discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to protect DACA recipients and how critically important it is that Congress takes action now to provide permanent safety, protection, and pathway towards citizenship.

Sedrick Murhula, JFS Youth Program Coordinator, participates in this important roundtable discussion.

With ‘Remain in Mexico’ hearings paused, the coronavirus lockdown has made it increasingly difficult to find food and shelter.

The City Council voted unanimously to extend the city’s contract with the nonprofit Jewish Family Service, citing a potential increase in homelessness due to the coronavirus pandemic and after police found no evidence that program was increasing crime, as opponents predicted it would.

Encinitas council approves proposal, saying program provides a critical service given during pandemic.

After reading over 100 testimonials and comments, the Encinitas City Council voted to reauthorize the extension of the Jewish Family Service’ss Safe Parking Program for its full 16-month lease during its May 20 meeting.

Jewish Family Service, an agency in San Diego with a long history of helping immigrants, was chosen as one of 12 agencies to distribute funds as part of the Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI), as promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Jewish Family Service de San Diego (JFS) está operando el proyecto de Asistencia de Desastre para Inmigrantes (DRAI por sus siglas en Ingles) del Estado de California para los Condados de San Diego e Imperial. El Proyecto DRAI es una ayuda financiera del estado para inmigrantes adultos indocumentados afectados por COVID-19. Es una ayuda de una sola instancia como asistencia por desastre.  Un adulto indocumentado que califica puede recibir $ 500 en asistencia directa, con un máximo de $ 1000 en asistencia por hogar.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) is operating the State of California Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI) project for San Diego and Imperial Counties. The DRAI Project is one-time state-funded disaster relief assistance for undocumented adult immigrants impacted by COVID-19. An undocumented adult who qualifies can receive $500 in direct assistance, with a maximum of $1,000 in assistance per household.

Applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis until the $75 million in state funding runs out.

Unauthorized immigrants in San Diego County impacted by COVID-19 eligible to receive a one-time relief payment from state, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced Friday.

“These are folks who work,” Fletcher said in announcing the launch of the San Diego Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrant Program. “Many of them are essential workers. They pay taxes and they work in our vital core sectors of many of our essential businesses.” It will be operated in San Diego County by Jewish Family Service beginning Monday. Applicants can call Jewish Family Service at (858) 206-8281.

With Team Rubicon’s volunteer support, Jewish Family Service has more than quadrupled the number of home delivered meals for isolated seniors.

Our sixth Community Conversation, this virtual discussion will bring together mental health experts from the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) communities to discuss common mental health issues, identify the social barriers that prevent API individuals from seeking help, and offer tips on coping during the increased stress and uncertainty of our current public health crisis.

A longtime partner of JFS, Jimbo’s donated all the proceeds from their 10-cent plastic bag fee during the COVID-19 outbreak to our Hand Up Food Pantry.