City hosts community meeting to discuss plans for pope’s Juarez meeting

The City of El Paso hosted the first of three community meetings to discuss plans for Pope Francis’ visit to Juarez.

All three meetings will be in the Segundo Barrio neighborhood, which is the area the city will shut down during the pope’s visit next month.

The proximity of the pope’s scheduled Mass location in Juarez to the neighborhood, is what has the city worried. El Paso Police said Wednesday they’re afraid people will not be able to get into Juarez and instead gather and park in the neighborhood.

The police department plans to have a combination of fencing, barricades, officers and patrol units to enforce the closures.

Residents wondered how they would be able to get in and out of their homes. Police said they’ll be able to move around, but not completely.

“People that live in the neighborhood can move around. We’re not restricting them from their homes,” Assistant Police Chief Patrick Maloney said. “They can’t leave the area in their vehicles. We have one specific area, when they leave they will meet with an officer and they will be given a certain pass that will allow them to get back in as long as its before 2 p.m. After 2 p.m. we will completely close down the area to traffic.”

A second community meeting will be scheduled for Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. at the Armijo Recreation Center.