EL PASO, Texas — Immigrants released into the city after illegally crossing the border have set up temporary residence at the El Paso International Airport with nowhere to go for the night.
Well over 100 immigrants lined the walls and halls in a public section of the airport late Monday. Just around the corner from the makeshift dwelling, local residents waved homemade signs and hugged loved ones who had just exited the terminals.
But in this tucked away space, men and women were sprawled out on the floor covered in all types of blankets, likely donated from nonprofit groups that were too overwhelmed to provide shelter for the night. Many clung to white and red blankets that bore the logo of the American Red Cross.
The immigrants who slept at the airport Monday will likely be gone in a day or two and replaced by hundreds or thousands more who have come across the border illegally and been released by the Border Patrol into the country.
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Once released from federal custody, the government is not responsible for providing shelter, food, or protection.
Some traveled alone and lay on the ground in an attempt to sleep despite the noise of the airport. Others, presumably families, huddled together and slept on one another for warmth and safety.
The impromptu sleeping quarters are located before the security checkpoints where fast food restaurants have closed up shop and art gallery rooms have been repurposed.
A large open room to the main hall of the airport had people against all three walls. Past that room and to the left, people were lined up on both sides of a hallway. Some wore face masks, while others did not.
Beyond the hallway, more people were sprawled out in a larger hallway. In a room off this second hall, people with flights scheduled for the morning were lined up in multiple rows, according to an on-site security guard on duty.
Yet another large room is visible but out of site. The site manager, an employee of Bella Luna Engineering, declined to comment or provide her name. The Bella Luna Engineering website describes it as a facility manager.
Border Patrol facilities are overflowing with thousands of illegal immigrants in custody and scores more waiting outside due to limited space in government facilities.
Internal planning documents reviewed by the Washington Examiner early last week revealed that Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, just one of nine southern border regions, had 4,500 immigrants in custody the previous Saturday.
A senior Border Patrol agent involved in the response said the rush is likely the result of immigrants attempting to get into the United States before pandemic public health policy Title 42 ends next week.
Under Title 42, immigrants from Mexico and Central American countries are easily expelled at the border, while immigrants from countries further away have largely been released into the U.S.
When Title 42 ends, possibly as early as Wednesday, Border Patrol will not be able to return people across the border immediately and will arrest each illegal immigrant and detain them.
However, Border Patrol does not have the capacity to detain immigrants for as long as it takes to process people under normal procedures, as opposed to now when immigrants in custody are typically released within 24 to 48 hours and facilities can constantly cycle people in and out of custody.
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The El Paso airport, the only large airport for hundreds of miles, has been inundated with immigrants boarding flights to destinations nationwide.
