Number of migrants on the streets continues to decrease
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The number of migrants on the streets of downtown El Paso continues to decrease.
Officials say the number of people being released to the streets has decreased even before the President announced he was coming to El Paso.
While still full, the sparsity of the streets is noticeable compared to the streets just a few weeks ago.
According to U.S. Border Patrol, for the first week of January, agents in the El Paso sector encountered an average of 759 migrants a day.
For comparison, in December, there was an average of almost 1,800 migrant encounters a day, according to border patrol.
According to Mexican immigration officials, they've seen around 200 migrants being returned daily over the last several days. Of those, about 80 migrants have been taken to local shelters.
A pastor at sacred heart implied the numbers seem to back up what he's been seeing himself.
"I think in recent times it rather small, maybe more people are gonna show up later that's something I don't know, but right now the number that I'm seeing is rather low,' said Rafael Garcia, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church.