El Paso Mayor discusses Tren de Aragua, Gateway Hotel

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser sat down with ABC-7 on Wednesday to discuss Tren de Aragua's presence in El Paso and address the shutdown of the Gateway Hotel, which allegedly housed members of the gang.

The mayor noted that despite the El Paso County Attorney filing the lawsuit against the hotel's owners, the city was involved in the hotel's closure.

"The city was involved from the beginning working with the county," Leeser said. "Just like you saw when they did the entertainment venues that were closed down, the city would go through a certain procedure and then have to go to the county, and the county would do that. This is no different."

I asked the mayor if he felt the city should have handled past migrant surges differently. He noted that although the federal government oversees border crossings, city law enforcement works to ensure the safety of El Pasoans.

"We have to continue to work with them to make sure our community continues to be safe," Leeser added.

Leeser added he doesn't see a reason for the public to be concerned about safety.

"No, based on what I was briefed on today, we're continuing to address and look at and know the movement and everything that's been going on within the community," he added.

"We'll continue to know the movement. We're always out on the street, and we're always working and we're always identifying individuals, and we know who they are."

Mayor Leeser also mentioned city officials will hold a press conference tomorrow with "city officials" to further explain future plans to combat Tren de Aragua.