Step.- More than 200 immigrants of various nationalities, mostly Venezuelans, stationed themselves around the Opportunity Center for the Homeless (OCH), located at 1208 Myrtle, in search of food and money to travel by bus to other cities in the inside the country.
According to Araceli Martin, a spokesperson for the refuge, the foreigners present a mixed immigration status: some bring documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security through the CBP One application, but others crossed the border illegally, according to the result of a informal survey conducted on site.
“We are assuming the expenses to provide services to undocumented people. We cannot apply for federal funds to obtain reimbursement for these services due to the lack of documentation”, said Martin after pleading for the participation of the community.
He commented that since the last few weeks they have been receiving immigrants and just on Tuesday a large group arrived at the shelter but yesterday, Wednesday, it doubled, therefore the urgency of community support in the face of this new wave.
Although there are several shelters in the city that deal with contingencies, most receive only people who are certified and released by federal authorities, to comply with the policy established by the government and that allows them to receive funds for their operation. The El Paso diocese has four migrant shelters, but they only receive migrants who have been processed by Border Patrol.
People processed by Border Patrol agents and allowed to enter shelters are migrants excluded from Title 42 removals because they come from countries that are not subject to that public health order.
They are the ones who have the right to spend the nights in shelters authorized and supported by the county authorities in terms of advice to be able to continue their journey and be able to meet with their relatives or sponsors.
In a tour of the sector it was possible to appreciate the erection of several white tents installed by immigrants to protect themselves from the sun’s rays. Several public toilets that were facilitated by shelter staff were also observed.
They expect a surge
As the lifting of Title 42, set for May 11, approaches, both municipal authorities and the managers who operate the shelters established in the city expect the massive arrival of immigrants, so they are working on a strategy to face the wave.
“We thought that this was going to start in May, but we are already seeing that it is not like that,” said the spokesperson for the center for opportunities for the homeless, which in the face of the emergency expanded the service to foreigners.
The legal and illegal incursion of hundreds of immigrants to the city of El Paso has promoted that people from various countries of South and Central America are now being served.
“Since the last week of March we have seen an increase in both the men-only building and the Welcome Center,” Martin said, after constant rumors that the border is open.
He recalled that another of the factors that influenced more people to arrive in the city was the fire registered in the provisional station of the National Institute of Migration in Ciudad Juárez, where 40 migrants lost their lives, fear and insecurity have forced the refugees to to flee Mexico now.
In addition to this and on the eve of the lifting of the much questioned Title 42, those in charge of the operation of the various shelters fear that a crisis like the one that occurred in December with the arrival of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally in search for the long-awaited American dream.
“Apart from food, such as rice, beans and a variety of meats, we need shoes, tennis shoes, men’s and women’s pants,” said Araceli Martin, after emphasizing that it is impossible to provide them with the resources they request to move to the interior of the country.
We are getting ready now that Title 42 ends and we have to be ready to prevent people from being out in the open and sleeping on the streets just as it happened at the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year. “Our mission is to help everyone equally regardless of nationality, language, religion or gender,” he said.
Another of the spaces available for the care of migrants is the Welcome House managed by the Sacred Heart Church, located in the Segundo Barrio, since mid-December 2022.
“We will try to accommodate as many as possible while keeping the places safe and comfortable,” said Jesuit Father Rafael García, who provides lodging and hot food to families from Venezuela, Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, among other nationalities.
