Texas mayor declares state of emergency over migrant swell

A Texas border city mayor declared a state-of-emergency Saturday due to concerns about how the community will handle the anticipated influx of migrants from the South.

Oscar Leeser, El Paso Mayor, issued the emergency declaration to allow the border city with Mexico to access additional resources. This was in response to Title 42 expulsions ending Dec. 21, El Paso Times reported.

Leeser previously refused to issue an emergency declaration. However, he said that he was moved by the sight people walking along downtown streets in temperatures below freezing.

Leeser stated that “that’s not how we want to treat people” during Saturday’s news conference.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that restrictions that prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. over recent years will be lifted Wednesday unless further appeals are filed.

Leeser stated that the increase in street release and daily apprehensions could be as high as 6,000 per day after Wednesday.

Mario D’Agostino, El Paso’s Deputy City Manager, stated that the declaration of a state emergency would allow the city to operate larger sheltering operations and provide additional transportation for asylum seekers.