Time running out on Tijuana migrant shelters as they scramble to replace US funding

Late last year, Father Pat Murphy had a solid budget for his Casa Del Migrante shelter in Tijuana. Or at least he thought he did.

Weeks before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, he lined up funding for his migrant shelter through organizations aligned with the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID).

“We just signed a contract the last day of December for aid for the entire year,” Murphy said. “It would have been close to $100,000.”

But then on his first day in office, Trump made sweeping cuts to USAID, which cost the shelter 40% of its budget.

Now, if Casa Del Migrante does not find alternative funding sources, the shelter will have to reduce services or shut down, Murphy said.

“We have about three months,” he said. “If we don’t get something by June, we’re going to have to make some decisions.”

Casa Del Migrante did not receive money directly from USAID. Instead, they worked with other international organizations like UNICEF or Catholic Relief Services who did get USAID funding.

In February, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, placed more than 10,000 USAID staffers on leave, froze ongoing contracts and cut the agency’s budget.

Several lawsuits have questioned the legality of those cuts. But until the lawsuits are resolved, organizations worldwide are struggling to survive without funds that were already promised.

In Tijuana, operators say it leaves the city’s shelter system unprepared for mass deportations.

A wide search

It’s forced Murphy to hit the road on a fundraising tour. He spent a week talking to potential donors in Kansas, where he used to work. And he plans to spend the end of April visiting former classmates in Canada. He says he has faith in people’s generosity.

“Even those who don’t have much know that there are others who have less, so they are usually willing and able to help,” Murphy said.

One place shelter operators know they can’t turn to is the Mexican government.

In 2018, former Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador eliminated federal funding for all nonprofits, including shelters. As a result, they are more dependent than ever on international aid.

“The shelters are always at (financial) risk,” Jose Maria Garcia Lara, a shelter operator and representative of an alliance of migrant shelters, said in Spanish. “Little by little, some of them could disappear.”

One vulnerable shelter Garcia operates is Movimiento Juventud. It had its power shut off last year after it failed to pay its utility bill. That left families without electricity to charge their phones, hot water for showers or a stove for hot meals.

“That almost happened again the other week,” Garcia said. “They were about to shut the lights off, but we found a donor.”

Shelters throughout Tijuana are relatively empty right now. Garcia said members of the shelter alliance are at 25% occupancy.

Casa Del Migrante has enough capacity for 140 people. But there are only 40 living there, according to Father Murphy.

But he worried about what will happen if and when Trump’s promises of mass deportations materialize. That could send thousands of deportees to Tijuana’s underfunded shelters.