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El Paso’s mayor announces a state of emergency due to an inflow of migrants from Mexico. December 17 (Reuters) – On Saturday, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, proclaimed a state of emergency, citing hundreds of migrants camping on the streets in freezing conditions and thousands being apprehended every day.
The emergency declaration, according to Democrat Mayor Oscar Leeser, will provide local authorities with the resources and power to accommodate migrants who have crossed the Mexican border. “We wanted to make certain that people were treated with dignity. We want to ensure that everyone is safe “Leeser stated to reporters.
El Paso, a Democratic stronghold with a history of embracing immigrants, has struggled to deal with tens of thousands of migrants crossing the border with Mexico in recent months. After a US judge ordered COVID-era border restrictions known as Title 42 to be lifted by December 21, the city is ready for an increase in migrant arrivals.
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Under President Joe Biden, a Democrat who assumed office in January 2021, a record number of migrants have been apprehended crossing the US-Mexico border, generating attacks from Republican opponents who seek tighter tactics.
Venezuelan migrants wait near the Rio Bravo River, the border between Mexico and the United States, for an announcement regarding the end of Title 42 on December 21, 2022, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
According to city estimates, US border officials encountered an average of more than 2,400 migrants per day in a 268-mile stretch of the border known as the El Paso Sector over the past week, a 40% increase from October.
Even as federal officials relocate migrants in El Paso to other towns in the United States, local shelters are at capacity, and migrants are sleeping on the streets as temperatures drop below freezing. El Paso’s deputy city manager, Mario D’Agostino, said the emergency declaration will also give the city additional transportation choices to take migrants to other destinations, as well as additional assistance from state law enforcement.
In late August, as migrant arrivals rose, the city initiated a busing scheme that moved roughly 14,000 migrants to New York and Chicago, claiming that many Venezuelans were entering without U.S. sponsors. The initiative was discontinued in October when the Biden administration began returning Venezuelans to Mexico under Title 42, but it might be restarted if Venezuelans are permitted to pass into El Paso again, D’Agostino said on Thursday.
The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused a request by a group of Republican-led states to intervene in a case to maintain Title 42 in place on Friday. The states could file an appeal with the United States Supreme Court.
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