El Paso migrant shelter empty as migration declines, city stands ready for possible surge
Published: Sat, 11/18/23
El Paso migrant shelter empty as migration declines, city stands ready for possible surge
Community Readiness Center has a space for women and children.
CREDIT: KFOX14/CBS4.
KFOX 14
by Jonathan Mejia
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — It's been more than a month since the city of El Paso opened up a migrant shelter at a former middle school campus in west El Paso.
The Community Readiness Center has not sheltered migrants since October 18, according to the city's Migrant Situational Awareness Dashboard.
KFOX14 spoke with Laura Cruz-Acosta, the Communications Director for the city of El Paso, and she said the center is not currently housing any migrants at this time but stands ready to scale operations to address the needs of the community.
"What we saw is a sharp decline in terms of migrants that were arriving in the United States and so you see that with the CBP numbers," Cruz-Acosta said.
At the height of the recent migrant wave in September, the city stepped up and purchased the vacant Morehead Middle School campus from the El Paso Independent School District.
"We didn't have the need or the extreme surge in need in terms of the shelter services that the city was providing," Cruz-Acosta said.
Laura Cruz-Acosta, the Communications Director for the city of El Paso. November 17, 2023.
Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
The city said the downtown shelter network made up of Sacred Heart Church, the Rescue Mission of El Paso, and the Opportunity Center for the Homeless can handle the demands of the current migration situation.
Although shelter leaders said they have been operating slightly over capacity, they are monitoring the situation.
"The downtown shelter network is on alert. Our numbers within the shelters are still high but I would not call it a crisis at this point," John Martin, the Deputy Director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, said.
John Martin, the Deputy Director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless.
Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
In September more than 1,300 migrants were being sheltered by the city. More than 300 were at Tobin's Nation and more than 1,000 were spread out among eight hotels paid for by the city, according to the dashboard.
It's a reality, the city is aware, could happen again.
"We are always at the ready and we're always having communication with our local, state, and federal partners. So we are always at the ready in order to stand up as needed," Cruz-Acosta said.
KFOX14 asked the city why they are not helping local shelters that are over capacity.
"The city is not in the business of housing individuals. That is why we have our local community NGOs. The local community NGOs are able to tap into different resources than we are," Cruz-Acosta said.