El Paso declares a state of emergency over immigration

• El Paso mayor declares a state of emergency due to influx of migrants.
• Oscar Leeser is requesting additional support.
• People are wandering the streets in frigid temperatures.

On Saturday, the mayor of the Texas border city of El Paso, declared a state of emergency over concern about his municipality’s ability to manage the influx of migrants crossing the southern border of the United States, according to The Associated Press.

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency to allow the city, on the border with Mexico, access to additional resources that are expected to be needed when removals authorized under Title 42 end on December 21, according to the El Paso Times.

THE MAYOR IS TRYING TO PROTECT THE MIGRANTS

Leeser had been resistant to declaring a state of emergency, but said he had decided to take the action after seeing people on the streets of downtown in freezing temperatures, according to the Times. “This is not how we want to treat people,” Leese said during a news conference Saturday night.

A ruling last Friday by the DC Court of Appeals meant that the restrictions that have prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum in the United States in recent years would be lifted on Wednesday, barring new appeals.

INCREDIBLE INFLUX OF MIGRANTS

Leeser added that the increase would be «incredible» as of Wednesday, when the number of people arrested and released on the street could reach 6,000 a day, the local newspaper said. The situation may be uncontrollable, which is why they are already analyzing the actions they will take in the coming days.

The number two in the local government, Mario D’Agostino, said the state of emergency would give the municipality more flexibility to manage large shelter programs and provide additional transportation to asylum seekers, with the goal of not leaving anyone behind. Filed Under: El Paso State of Emergency

IS THE WORST COMING?

With more than 3,000 new hires, a doubling of transportation capacity, and more dire consequences for those who cross the border irregularly, the US expects to deal with what is anticipated to be an increased influx of migrants and asylum seekers starting on Wednesday.

On December 21, Title 42, a health regulation established by former President Donald Trump, and maintained by the current administration, which has until now allowed the expulsion of the majority of people who cross the southern border, will cease to apply.  The Biden administration must abide by an order from a federal judge in Washington, DC, who ordered the regulation to be lifted in mid-November, describing it as «arbitrary and capricious». Filed Under: El Paso State of Emergency