Nearly 2,000 people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in El Paso, Texas, who were apprehended for illegally crossing from Mexico into the U.S. are expected to be released over the weekend.
Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House, said up to 600 immigrants will be released each of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Garcia said his nonprofit organization works with others in the region and helps immigrants who have been released from federal custody and that they were informed hundreds would be put out on the streets at the end of this week.
The practice of releasing hundreds of immigrants at a time is not unprecedented. Since last fall, more than 25 large groups of 100 to 500 people each have been apprehended at the border after illegally crossing in the El Paso region.
People who have illegally crossed the border are initially taken into custody by Border Patrol, where they are held for up to 72 hours. While in the patrol’s custody, they are interviewed, given medical exams, and a determination is made whether they will be turned over to ICE for immediate deportation.
Many of those who are being arrested at the border are Central American families and children who tell agents they have a “credible fear” of returning home. Due to a 2015 court ruling as part of the Flores settlement, those who move to claim asylum cannot be immediately deported but cannot be held by ICE more than 20 days.
As large groups of families have continued to arrive between border crossings in recent months, the flow of immigrants from Border Patrol stations to ICE detention centers has been overrun.
An ICE official told the Washington Examiner Friday more than 84,000 members of families have been released from custody between Dec. 21, 2018, and March 5.
The majority of those releases were in San Antonio, where 37,000 immigrants have been let go. Approximately 24,000 people in El Paso; 14,500 in Phoenix; and 8,500 in San Diego have also been released during that time.
“The current volume of family units crossing the border combined with limited transportation resources, time restrictions on families in government custody, and finite space at family residential centers have all contributed to the current state of events,” an ICE official said. “ICE is releasing families to NGOs that provide assistance with immediate basic needs such as temporary shelter, food, water, clothing and transportation services; however, many of these organizations are overwhelmed due to the ongoing influx of families at the border.”
El Paso city spokeswoman Laura Cruz told a local outlet the city cannot legally provide shelter to the 1,800 people set to be released this weekend.
The El Paso Police Department issued a text message to residents Wednesday asking residents to help nonprofit organizations in taking in people.
ICE is planning to build a massive center in El Paso to hold all asylum-seekers arriving at various parts of the southern border.
