El Paso faces potential migrant surge amid overcrowded shelters and rising numbers

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — For the first time since early September migrants are out on the streets of El Paso.

Large number of migrants can be seen outside of Sacred Heart Church in south El Paso.

It's a sight that El Paso has seen before.

John Martin is the Deputy Director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless and he said El Paso is on the verge of another migrant surge.

"It does look like the indicators are all increasing to the extent that I think this is going to be a regular basis from day to day," Martin said.

The downtown shelter network made up of Sacred Heart Church, the Rescue Mission of El Paso, and the Opportunity Center are all over capacity and have been for several months now.

"We’re seeing an increase. What’s been a little unique over the last few days is that we’ve seen more single adults than we have families," Martin said.

There are 4,017 migrants in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, Border Patrol are encountering 949 migrants a day, and 887 migrants were released, according to the city's Migrant Situational Awareness Dashboard.

"I’m just not sure if I’m ready to jump into the deep end yet, but I think the reality is that it’s approaching and hopefully we don’t see the large numbers that we saw last winter at this time," Martin said.

Martin said the reason we're not seeing last winter's situation is because the city of El Paso has been using the state of Texas' Department of Emergency Management buses to send migrants to New York, Chicago, and Denver, he also said it's because the city has put migrants up in hotels, but Martin said more could be done.

"Now if I were sitting in their chair I would probably be a bit more proactive and look at what's needed at this point and set up a shelter. If the numbers continue to increase are we going to look at other options at this point?" Martin said.

KFOX14 reached out the city of El Paso for a response a spokesperson sent the following statement:

Those that are on the street unsheltered remain a priority. Roving teams work with and gather daily counts from all the downtown shelters and take migrants to the shelters who can shelter the migrants. Those migrants for whom the shelters cannot provide shelter for are sent to hotels.

KFOX14 also reached out to Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales for a response to the current migrant situation in El Paso and he said:

The unfortunate reality is Congress and the White House have ignored the border, and now we’re past a breaking point. Communities along the border and cities hundreds of miles away are overwhelmed by illegal migrant surges. Policy changes have to be made to mitigate the surge—raising the credible fear standard and deporting individuals who do not qualify for asylum is absolutely necessary to get this crisis under control.

KFOX14 also reached out to Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar for a response to the migrant situation but we did not get a response in time for this report.

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