One week after a flood of refugees and immigrants began entering the country illegally, soon overloading federal immigration and city police, El Paso proclaimed a state of emergency on Saturday.
State of Emergency in El Paso
Mayor Oscar Leeser said he proclaimed a state of emergency after meeting with federal, state, and municipal authorities on increasing numbers of migrants transferred into the city by U.S. Border Patrol after being processed.
The mayor, who’d already initially declined to declare a state of emergency, stated “hundreds” of migrants are living on the streets in dangerous conditions as the average temperature starts to decrease.
The situation could become much worse on Wednesday, when a Trump-era border policy is expected to be pulled, resulting in a rise in migrant inflows.
They understand the migration on Wednesday will be enormous, the mayor stated during a media briefing, going on to say some authorities believe the number of people traveling after December 21 might more than quadruple.
In light of these reasons, they felt it was appropriate to declare a state of emergency today.
A Border Patrol official stated, earlier this week, over 2,400 migrants illegally crossed the border daily near El Paso over the weekend, calling the statistic a “significant increase in unlawful crossings” in the region.
The White House is urging Democrat Mayor Oscar Lesser of El Paso, Texas NOT to declare a state of emergency over the border crisis despite thousands of illegal aliens overrunning the southern border daily. pic.twitter.com/8YeXCDydzu
— Suburban Black Man 🇺🇸 (@niceblackdude) October 19, 2022
The court-ordered termination of Title 42, a policy that permitted authorities to reject migrants intercepted at the southern border since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, will take effect on Wednesday.
Federal officials anticipate a substantial spike in border crossings as the date looms.
The mayor of El Paso stated he did not earlier declare an emergency because municipal leaders and other partners were able to respond to the influx, but he stressed this is no longer the situation.
“I stated from the outset I would call it if I believed that either our asylum-seekers or our community were in danger,” Leeser stated on Saturday.
“I genuinely think our asylum-seekers are not valued today, as there are hundreds upon hundreds of them on the streets, which is not how we wish to treat people.”
The mayor of El Paso, Oscar Leeser, had declared 'state of emergency' after thousands of illegals crossed over to El Paso. The mayor of NY, Adams, and governor of California, Newsom, all admitted there's a crisis at the border. A few months ago, they denied it. Why now? 2024? pic.twitter.com/nZly1rByHZ
— Oscar Winkura (@darockstud) December 18, 2022
The statement will enable municipal officials to seek extra resources from the state, such as employee housing and transit, according to a recent report from the city.
In addition, a Disaster Operations Center will be formed and emergency management procedures will be implemented in order to defend the healthcare, security, and welfare of illegals and their society.
Resources Stretched Thin
The city already sent staff to the downtown area to help refugees organize transit and provide them with accommodation.
One El Paso official told CNN’s Boris Sanchez on Saturday morning, prior to the mayor’s media briefing, that the city’s finances were already stretched thin.
He was concerned about the implications of Wednesday’s repeal of Title 42.
This article appeared in Conservative Cardinal and has been published here with permission.
