The future remains uncertain for Title 42, the Trump-era public health measure still used to expel asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
With a Supreme Court case on the issue pending, Mecklenburg County is anticipating a possible end to the policy and an increase in migrant arrivals.
"State and local governments are preparing for any potential impact that should occur," County Manager Dena Diorio said at Wednesday's Board of Commissioners meeting.
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The board approved nearly $40 million in American Rescue Plan spending for affordable housing and homelessness programs in the county.
One of their latest partners in combating homelessness is Charlotte’s Latin American Coalition, which was allocated $2 million to provide humanitarian relief services.
The coalition was among the first to alert county officials in 2022 to the serious needs facing newly arrived migrant families. Coalition Director José Hernández-Paris began urging increased community support last summer.
“We want to prepare," he said. "I think if we are able to work with the ones that are coming in, place them and integrate them as quickly as possible, that will help us avoid the potential of this becoming a bigger crisis."
Emergency housing is a new area of work for the organization. But last year, the issue became one of their top priorities. Around June, dozens of families, many from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Honduras, began arriving at their Central Avenue office in search of shelter, Hernández-Paris said.
“About 40% of those are kids under 18 and individuals in a state of homelessness or near homelessness,” he said. “We usually receive about three families per week.”
That was in October. By year’s end, the coalition served around 4,400 immigrants and migrants in a variety of areas, from job training to emergency services, according to their Immigrant Welcome Center. To address housing needs, the coalition turned to the community.
“It is very difficult for migrant families to see a migrant family homeless, to see them on the street,” Hernández-Paris said last fall. “Individuals call our office and they're offering space, a room or even their backyard. We have people who are in tents in people's backyards just to make sure that they're not in the street.”
In December, Hernández-Paris said outreach to local officials was gaining momentum, and County Manager Dena Diorio paid a visit to their office.
“She seemed very open and very, very interested in helping and asked us whether there has been precedent before in Charlotte of groups that we have helped,” Hernández-Paris said. “We talked about [Hurricane] Katrina as a humanitarian crisis and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that we may be on the brink of a humanitarian crisis with migrant families inside of the United States. And we're going to have to work together to address it.”
Hernández-Paris said he received a call from a Department of Homeland Security official last year, inquiring about Charlotte as a destination for migrant arrivals.
Dozens of Mecklenburg County stakeholders discussed the issue in late December, Diorio said during Wednesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting.
“Despite the significant work already being done within the county, stakeholders and partners identified several gaps that cannot currently be filled in our community,” Diorio said.
“Given limited resource capacity and staffing levels across organizations, some of the most critical gaps identified include local shelter capacity, long-term housing options, access to medical and legal services and basic needs like food and clothing.”
Another county stakeholder meeting on Title 42 and migrant emergency assistance is scheduled for Tuesday of next week.
The U.S. Supreme Court expects to begin hearing oral arguments in March regarding a Title 42 appeal brought by a group of Republican-led states.
