San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center running out of space amid flood of arrivals

Officials at San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center worry the facility will be at capacity by the end of the week as a flood of new asylum seekers arrive in the city, KENS5 reports.

The concerns about the facility being overwhelmed come after the mayor of Eagle Pass on Wednesday declared a state of emergency while his South Texas city tallied some 2,500 migrant border crossings.

Between 600 and 800 migrants arrived at San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center on Wednesday, Catholic Charities CEO Antonio Fernandez told KENS5. Fernandez, whose charity operates the center, said Wednesday marked its highest daily total in recent months.

He also told the TV station he expects 6,000 more people to arrive by Friday.

“We are at full capacity,” Fernandez told KENS5. “We’re going to have people [sleeping] outside the facility because we don’t have enough space.”

Before Wednesday’s influx, the North Side facility was servicing 2,000 to 4,000 migrants weekly, Fernandez told KENS5. The center has a total capacity of 7,000 people, he added.

This week’s surge in South Texas border crossings comes amid rising tensions between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, who’s administration is suing Abbott and Texas for deploying a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande this summer.

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