El Paso shelters grapple with migrant increase, city activates hotels for extra housing
Published: Thu, 12/07/23
El Paso shelters grapple with migrant increase, city activates hotels for extra housing
Drone of border where hundreds of migrants are gathered
(credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
KFOX14
by Jonathan Mejia
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — Numbers of migrants arriving in El Paso are trending upward, according to the city of El Paso's Migrant Situational Awareness Dashboard.
While we haven't seen migrants on the streets for months now, local shelters have been operating at overcapacity and since mid-November, the city of El Paso started to use hotels again to house migrants.
The increase in migrants has now forced these local shelters to figure out where to make more space for migrants.
"This started for us on Friday and it appears to be continuing forward," John Martin, Deputy Director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, said.
The downtown shelter network is made up of Sacred Heart Church, the Rescue Mission of El Paso, and the Opportunity Center.
"It's concerning and it easily could be forthcoming in the coming days," Martin said.
Martin said the shelters and stakeholders look at numbers daily and there are indicators that the number of migrants coming to the El Paso border sector is trending upward.
John Martin, the Deputy Director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless.
Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
"[The numbers show] we had over 3,600 that were currently in custody. It also indicated that the number of encounters at the border had increased dramatically over the last couple of weeks," Martin said.
The city of El Paso's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) told KFOX14 they're monitoring the migration and added that they are putting migrants in hotels.
While the city is putting some migrants in hotels, Martin said it's not a direct help for the shelters.
"For example, if I have a family in the shelter and I'm overcapacity, I don't have the ability to transfer that family to the hotel. However, if OEM, who is administering the hotels, is able to intercede before they come to the shelter that's where the relief to the downtown shelter network comes into place," Martin said.
Tuesday a group of migrants were seen on the other side of the border highway in the Lower Valley and Martin said the shelters have two or three days to prepare for whoever is released from those apprehended at the border.
Nonetheless, while Martin said the El Paso border sector is not at a point of another migrant surge, the signs are there.
"The numbers are all there. I don't know if we're on the verge of a fourth wave. I think it's a maybe a bit premature of us to say that at this point," Martin said.