El Paso deputy city manager says city doesn't have enough migrant shelter space
Published: Sat, 04/22/23
El Paso deputy city manager says city doesn't have enough migrant shelter space
Migrants board white Border Patrol van to be taken to processing center after surrendering themselves to border agents on April 11, 2023
(credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
CBS4
by Jonathan Mejia
EL PASO, Texas (CBS4) - The number of migrants coming to El Paso in the last few weeks has led the City of El Paso to the decision that they'll need to open a migrant shelter ahead of Title 42 being lifted on May 11.
Until this week, the city said there wasn't a need for a shelter and they would wait to see what happened when the pandemic-era border policy is lifted in May.
Shelters across the city are at or near capacity as migrants have already started to make their way over.
Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino said the situation is worrisome.
"We don’t have enough shelter space here, we understand that. We don’t have enough transportation out [of El Paso] we understand that," D'Agostino said.
During the County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, D'Agostino gave an update on the response here in the Borderland.
D'Agostino said El Paso could see a large increase in migrants who enter the country both legally and illegally.
Although he did not give an estimate of the number of people, El Paso U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Anthony Good in a tweet Friday said the El Paso sector leads the country in migrant encounters with 265,037 as of March 31.
D'Agostino said the city still has its partnership with El Paso ISD to use the vacant Morehead Middle and Bassett Middle School campuses as shelters.
The city also has the Convention Center, but even with those facilities available, D'Agostino said it may not be enough.
"While we hope that’s enough to house everyone some of the numbers the intel is feeding us makes us concerned that that may not be enough," D'Agostino said.
The city said they want to be proactive instead of reactive and are looking to re-open those facilities sooner rather than later.
"What we’re foreseeing with Title 42 going away is going to require a mix of what we’ve all done the last few years," D'Agostino said.
D'Agostino said the city will take a number of steps to control the migrant situation.
Among them opening a fourth shelter for migrants in El Paso.
Another thing the city is looking into is sending migrants to other cities like Denver and Houston to keep shelters from overflowing locally.
D'Agostino said the city is looking to reopen the city's migrant welcome center to help sponsored migrants and those with resources to book their transportation out of El Paso.
The city will also work with the Texas Department of Public Safety to stop migrants from crossing the border highway.
"It’s better to direct them to a port than running across the street," D'Agostino said.
D'Agostino said it will take a lot to address the surge but he's confident El Paso will meet the challenge.
"It’s going to take the whole community, but as we all know El Paso is that community and I got faith in that system," D'Agostino said.
The city has requested funds to last them for the rest of the year but has not received a response from the federal government.