Despite lack of space, migrants keep arriving at San Antonio center

On Thursday afternoon, hundreds of migrants heading as far away as New York and Florida camped outside the at-capacity San Antonio Migrant Resource Center on a busy stretch of San Pedro Avenue.

The flood of migrants overwhelming the facility comes around 24 hours after the mayor of Eagle Pass declared a state of emergency following the arrival of more than 2,500 migrants in his border city Wednesday.

“There was a slight uptick in arrivals after Title 42 ended,” said Jon Menendez, a migrant advocate who documents goings-on at the Migrant Resource Center. “This is the busiest it’s been in months.”

Although some of the migrants gathered outside the center said they have been in the city for a week, every person who spoke to the Current said they aren’t planning on staying.

“I’m going to Denver,” said 24-year-old Manuel Fernandez.

Fernandez’s journey from Maracaibo, Venezuela, began nearly two months ago. Although he was light on details about his trek from South America, he said he’s been sleeping outside the center ever since a bus traveling from Eagle Pass dropped him there Monday.

The overwhelming majority of those baking in the sun outside the center Thursday said they’re from Venezuela.

“There is no money, no jobs in Venezuela,” said Victor Jose, who’s making his way to New York City. “It’s because of the dictator.”

Catholic Charities of San Antonio took over operating the center from the City of San Antonio last September. The San Antonio Archdiocese’s chief development officer, Tara Ford, was unavailable for immediate comment Thursday on how much space, if any, remains at the facility.

Despite migrants telling the Current the center is at capacity, two buses and a taxi arrived there in less than an hour’s time. The buses were largely full of Venezuelan asylum seekers, while the taxi carried Haitian migrants traveling from McAllen.

Many of the migrants outside said they were hungry. That desperation wasn’t lost on San Antonio retiree Arthur Gallegos, who said he drops off food every two weeks for the travelers in a nearby parking lot.

“I used to hitchhike back in the ’60s,” Gallegos said. “Those people would always feed me and stuff, so I guess this is my way of giving back.”

Federal immigration officials made an average of 6,900 apprehensions daily along the U.S.-Mexico border in the first 20 days of September, according to a CBS News report based on unpublished government figures. That’s up 60% from July’s average.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Biden White House is trying to set up additional migrant processing centers in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala to stem the wave of asylum seekers as deteriorating economic conditions and crime continue to drive people north.

Even so, the tide is likely to continue. Some 360,000 migrants so far this month have crossed through the Darien Gap, the nearly impenetrable jungle separating Panama from South America, according to the Times.

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This article appears in Sep 20 – Oct 3, 2023.