Step.- The illegal and legal incursion of hundreds of immigrants to the city of El Paso has begun to worry the directors of the various local shelters, seeing a significant increase in international “homeless” in the last three weeks.
Aracely Martin, spokesperson for the Center for Opportunities for the Homeless (OCH), located at 1208 Myrtle, in the South zone, stated that after the fire registered at the provisional station of the National Institute of Migration in Ciudad Juárez, where they lost their lives 40 migrants, fear and insecurity have now forced refugees to flee Mexico.
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 waves of thousands of migrants who crossed the border.
Another factor that has caused the increase is the constant rumors that the border is open, which is taken advantage of by migrants to cross and turn themselves in to the authorities or evade surveillance by other sectors of the dividing line.
“Since the last week of March we have seen an increase in both the men-only building and the Welcome Center,” Martin said.
He added that only on the weekend they attended around 80 people in the men’s area and 13 families that made up a total of 65 people plus the local homeless in the second center.
He stated that within the group of international immigrants there are people originating mostly from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Nicaragua, among other nationalities.
“We have a mixed population that still has people who turn themselves in to the Border Patrol, but others cross at different points on the border knowing that they will be turned away if they try to cross through the ports of entry.
He indicated that there are those who have a document issued by the immigration authorities and others who do not have any record from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. All are welcome, she added.
“The mission of our center is to help everyone equally regardless of nationality, language, religion or gender. If they need help, we help them”, pointed out the person in charge of attention to the media and public relations.
He pointed out that from January to March the centers were receiving local and foreign people without exceeding their capacity, however with this increase it is time to outline the strategy.
“We are preparing now that Title 42 expires because we have to be ready to receive the thousands of immigrants and prevent them from sleeping on the streets as happened at the end of 2022 and at the beginning of this year.” At that time, the Opportunity Center for the Homeless served around 9,000 immigrants.
And it is that at that time the massive arrival of migrants took the local, state and federal authorities by surprise, who had to act late while hundreds of them and entire families had to sleep outdoors and without having the necessary basic services.
John Martin, deputy director of the Homeless Opportunity Center, said at the time that one of his shelters was overwhelmed taking in 175 men in a space intended to hold up to 120 and his Welcome Center served families totaling about 120 people in a shelter that is meant to hold about 85.
This was after CBP authorities continued to make releases on the streets, disrupting the system and putting excessive pressure on local shelter capacities.
“At the peak of the crisis we had up to 300 people, that meant giving 300 lunches, 300 meals and 300 dinners, in addition to clothing, shoes, packages of hygiene products, among other supports. We don’t want it to happen again, he said, recalling that there was a historic day, in the 129 years that the center has been operating, when more refugees had to be banned from entering.
However, he said that talks are already being held with some organizations dedicated to caring for migrants, such as the Catholic Church, which already has an eye on a church that has a large hall and enough volunteers to receive refugees in the event of a massive avalanche.
Both the County and the City are also preparing to attend to and finance the stay of migrants once ‘zero hour’ arrives in a respectful and humanitarian manner.
