BREAKING: Border Patrol releases 114 migrants outside Las Cruces bus station
The United States Border Patrol released more than a hundred migrants outside a bus station in the heart of west Las Cruces.
This is the first time the federal immigration agency has released migrants directly into the streets of Las Cruces. The bus station is just south of Amador Avenue on Valley Drive.
“We’re at capacity and they’re at capacity” said Jennifer Martinez, a spokeswoman for the City. “Something has to give.”
According to the city, Las Cruces asked the U.S. Border Patrol on Thursday night to temporarily stop releasing the migrants because shelters were at capacity.
“There was no more room to shelter them,” said Udell Vigil, a spokesman for the city. “In response, the Border Patrol dropped them at the bus stop instead of the armory location or the County Triage Center.”
Las Cruces has allocated almost $600,000 to provide shelter to the migrants while their sponsors purchase plane or bus tickets to other parts of the country for their hearings. During the month of May, numerous graduations and spring travel plans across the country make it difficult for the migrants to find last-minute travel.
“We’ve asked, ‘Can you slow down a little bit?’ Martinez said. “We’re getting a little bit crunched.”
Following the discovery of the migrants, the city sent them in several busloads to the armory on Brown Road. Vigil told ABC-7 that they were able to clear out the dining area to make room for the migrants.
