More shelters could open in El Paso amid recent migrant surge

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- As El Paso continues to see an influx of migrants, local leaders are indicating they could open an additional shelter, within 48 hours if necessary.

Nightly roving teams are taking migrants from the street to hotels.

City leaders decided to utilize hotels to house migrants instead of Community Readiness Centers like Morehead Middle amid the migrant influx.

In a news conference, Mayor Oscar Lesser and Deputy City Manager Mario D'Augustino said hotels are a more efficient and cost-effective solution at this time.

El Paso started seeing an increase in migrant activity right after the Thanksgiving holiday, while city officials say the number of migrant encounters is still up, they have dropped from the thousands range to about 700 a day.

City officials say they continue to monitor CBP’s apprehension and release numbers to make these decisions.

For the time being city officials don't see the need for Morehead Middle to be utilized but they believe it can be ready within two days if an emergency is to arise.

For now, roving teams drive the downtown area throughout the day. They check for migrants who aren't able to get into one of the existing shelters. Those migrants are taken to hotels.

ABC-7 asked a migrant at Sacred Heart church if he were offered a hotel for the night would he take it.

"Oh yes of course I need to sleep calm and safe. I haven't slept in a bed in a long time. I’ve only slept out on fields tolerating the cold and I would love to sleep in a bed tonight," said Juan Luis Velasquez.

Currently, four hotels are being utilized. According to the City Public Spokesperson, they are seeing fewer migrants housed in hotels which means at this time they are unlikely to open the Community Readiness shelter.

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