The Democratic mayor of El Paso declared a state of emergency over the continued influx of immigrants, which is expected to get worse with the expiration of Title 42 immigration rules.
“I said from the beginning that I would call it when I felt that either our asylum-seekers or community were not safe,” El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said at a press conference Saturday in announcing the declaration.
“And I really believe that today, our asylum-seekers are not safe as we have hundreds and hundreds on the streets, and that’s not the way we want to treat people.”
Title 42, imposed during the Trump administration, allows border authorities to turn away asylum-seekers swiftly as a way to protect against the spread of COVID-19. Since its inception, 40% of immigrants have been turned away at the border. That is due to change on Dec. 21, when the policy is slated to expire.
Leeser is among those concerned over the end of the policy, declaring an emergency and requesting federal aid to help deal with the tidal wave of immigrants.
“We know the influx on [Dec. 21] will be incredible. It will be huge. On Wednesday, our numbers will go from 2,500 to 4,000, 5,000, maybe 6,000,” he said, Fox News reported.
IF TITLE 42 ENDS, BIDEN’S BROKEN BORDER WILL ONLY GET WORSE
Leeser stressed that the move was a humanitarian one to help the area’s facilities cope with the influx. El Paso has been inundated with more than 80,000 noncitizens who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and were released into its community in the last four months.
Leeser’s requests included staffing support, extra law enforcement, and transportation to send immigrants to other cities.
The immediate reason for the emergency declaration was the hundreds of immigrants sleeping outside in the cold and the increasing number of thousands apprehended at the border every day, Reuters reported.
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At the current rate of immigration, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border in the last fiscal year will reach 5 million, equivalent to adding seven new states, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming, Javier Palomarez, founder and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, told the Washington Examiner.
