In advance of the life-threatening freeze expected through the Christmas weekend, El Paso officials are preparing to shelter up to 10,000 migrants being released by federal officials. Officials also expressed concern that a sudden end to Title 42 could cause an increase in demand for shelter space.
A polar vortex bearing down on the border region could prove deadly for migrants crossing the Rio Grande in large groups. Temperatures in the border region are expected to remain below freezing beginning Thursday when overnight lows will reach 19 degrees Fahrenheit with expected wind chill temperatures in the single digits in several border cities.
Federal officials have been releasing thousands of migrants to NGO shelters and onto the city’s streets for the past month. El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials released more than 10,000 migrants in El Paso just during the past week, Breitbart Texas reported. More than 30,000 during the past four weeks, according to a dashboard published by the City of El Paso.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser told reporters the city activated its Emergency Operations Center on the city’s northeast side to manage their response to the growing migrant crisis. Multiple unidentified sources told El Paso Matter the city is making preparations to house up to 10,000 migrants in the community.
One of the shelters to be put online could be the city’s convention center located near the CBP ports of entry and multiple bus stations, the local news outlet stated. City officials also continue to house migrants in two hotels and at the international airport for migrants with tickets to travel.
El Paso County officials also operate a Migrant Support Services Center, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told El Paso Matters. The center helps migrants who have funds to travel. Since its opening in October, more than 18,000 migrants received assistance at the center.
Department of Homeland Security officials removed approximately 10,000 migrants from El Paso during the past week, the outlet reports. More than 3,400 of those migrants were expelled to Mexico under the current Title 42 program or removed to their countries of origin by ICE expedited removal flights. The remaining migrants, approximately 6,000, were moved from the El Paso Border Patrol Sectors to other sectors to be processed under what the agency calls “lateral decompression.”
It is not clear if Border Patrol officials coordinated with local officials in the border communities where the migrants are being moved.
In response to a disaster declaration issued by the city over the weekend, the Texas Division of Emergency Management expanded Governor Greg Abbott’s migrant busing program to include El Paso, Breitbart Texas reported. Hundreds of migrants have been removed from the Lone Star State under this program and delivered to the sanctuary cities of New York and Chicago.
According to the latest forecasts along many areas in the Texas border region, by Thursday evening, temperatures will drop into the 30s accompanied by high winds. In Eagle Pass, temperatures are expected below 20 degrees with a wind chill much lower. In El Paso, temperatures will also fall into the low 20s as migrants continue camping on the streets. Low temperatures below freezing are anticipated to continue through the Christmas weekend and into Monday.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.