El Paso, Texas ‘at a breaking point’ as Migrant Numbers Skyrocket: Mayor; El Paso Opens New Shelter, Buses Migrants to Other Cities Amid Surge

El Paso, Texas ‘at a breaking point’ as migrant numbers skyrocket: mayor:

El Paso has reached “a breaking point” as thousands of migrants continue to stream across Mexico’s border into the US — and it shared its pain Saturday by busing scores to the Big Apple, its mayor said.

“The city of El Paso only has so many resources, and we have come to … a breaking point right now,” said Democratic Mayor Oscar Leeser at a briefing — where he noted more than 2,000 migrants are being taken into custody there every day.

He said the recent flood forced the town to charter five buses to take some of the asylum seekers to places such as New York, Chicago and Denver — Democratic strongholds and so-called “Sanctuary cities” that cater more to migrants.

“I think it’s really important to note that we have a broken immigration system,” Lesser said in a city where as recently as six weeks ago, about 350 to 400 people were crossing into it daily, a fraction of the current numbers. “It’s the same thing over and over again.”

He said El Paso is rushing to open a new emergency shelter itself to try to better handle the overwhelming influx, as its existing facilities burst at the seams.

The recent arrival of largely Venezuelan asylum seekers to the US is part of a larger swell of migrants who have been traveling dangerous routes on buses and cargo trains to Mexican border towns near San Diego, Calif., and the Texas cities of El Paso and Eagle Pass to enter the States. —>READ MORE HERE

El Paso opens new shelter, buses migrants to other cities amid surge:

El Paso, Texas, is scrambling to accommodate the influx of migrants crossing the border from Mexico, with over 2,000 migrants entering the U.S. seeking asylum per day, officials said Saturday.

The big picture: The high volume of border crossings into El Paso mirrors the historic number of migrant family crossings last month, new government data revealed.

What they’re saying: “The city of El Paso only has so many resources and we have come to … a breaking point right now, and so we have to look at different resources,” El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said Saturday at a press conference.

• Leeser said El Paso, which does not have the facilities to hold the growing number of migrants in the city, is opening up an additional shelter that can hold roughly 400 people. 

• “So, this is something that we’ve been prepared for, but these numbers have really escalated a lot quicker than we ever anticipated,” he added.

By the numbers: El Paso officials said around 6,500 migrants are seeking shelter, and the city anticipates more of an influx in the coming days as U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes additional people. —>READ MORE HERE

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