Migrant shelters across the country are rapidly closing as illegal immigration continues to decline under the Trump administration. The drastic reduction in migrant numbers is a direct result of the administration’s tough border enforcement measures, which have effectively curbed illegal crossings and reduced the strain on the shelter system.
For years, American taxpayers have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into various migrant shelter facilities in Texas, California, New York, and other parts of the country, as the Biden administration’s border policies led to an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants. However, with President Donald Trump’s return to office and his administration’s renewed focus on immigration enforcement, the number of migrants seeking shelter has dropped dramatically, leaving many facilities with no reason to remain open.
One example of this shift is the Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego, which operated the San Diego Rapid Response Network Migrant Shelter. The shelter had provided critical services to over 250,000 asylum seekers since its opening in 2018, thanks in part to significant federal backing, including a $22 million allocation from FEMA in fiscal year 2024. However, JFS CEO Michael Hopkins revealed that since Trump’s re-election, and particularly after the suspension of the CBP One app for asylum applicants, the shelter has not received any new migrants. Hopkins insisted that while there are fewer people seeking asylum, there is still a need for legal and social support services for “vulnerable local populations.”
The trend of shelter closures is not limited to California. The San Antonio Migrant Resource Center (MRC) in Texas, which opened in July 2022, saw a dramatic 72% drop in migrant arrivals from January 2024 to 2025. The facility received thousands of migrants arriving daily via bus and plane, costing the city around $35 million to operate. However, as fewer migrants have arrived, city leaders have determined that the shelter is no longer necessary. San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh confirmed that the drop in migrant numbers has made the cost of operating the MRC unsustainable.
Farther east, New York City, the country’s largest sanctuary city, is also experiencing a decrease in migrant arrivals. Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would close six emergency shelters for asylum seekers, bringing the total number of shelter closures between June 2024 and June 2025 to 52. The drop in migrant numbers has been significant enough to allow the city to close shelters without overwhelming the remaining facilities. Adams acknowledged that the influx of more than 230,000 migrants since spring 2022 had cost taxpayers approximately $7 billion, forcing the city to implement budget cuts to manage the financial burden.
U.S. Border Patrol encounters have dropped dramatically, with recent reports indicating only 229 encounters in a 24-hour period, a significant decline from the over 11,000 encounters per day under the Biden administration. Border officials have attributed this drop to the combination of Trump’s immigration policies, such as deploying American troops to the border, implementing tariffs, and securing international cooperation to curb the flow of illegal migrants and fentanyl.
In Texas, illegal border crossings fell by 85% in January, according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Chris Olivarez. This success has been credited to the coordinated efforts between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Trump administration, both of which have prioritized strict border enforcement.
READ NEXT: Pro-Immigration Protesters Vandalize & Block Traffic In LA
The quest to get the government out of the mess they’ve made is an appropriate move. However as folks are unrooted, return to the border, or their countries there is going to be human suffering. This is the arena where charitable organizations, ngos, parishes, and religious orders used to exercise their “love-your-neighbor” aspirations before government pre-empted the territory. Perhaps we will once again see a blooming of these “help-others” groups?