After sheltering 8,000 migrants, Las Cruces asks for federal reimbursement

The Las Cruces City Council is expected to ask the federal government to reimburse hundreds of thousands of dollars the city has spent in local migrant assistance.

Since April, the federal government has released 8,000 migrants in the city of Las Cruces, according to Councilor Greg Smith, who authored the resolution.

The state of New Mexico has reimbursed the city $250,000 for providing relief to the migrants, according to Councilor Gabe Vasquez, who represents district three. The state also reimbursed Luna County the same amount, Vasquez added.

In the past few months, the city has allocated $575,000 to shelter migrants who have been released in the city by federal immigration officials: $75,000 on April 15th and $500,000 on April 25th.

“We were given one choice frankly: between having the Customs and Border Protection agency drop them on our streets and simply leave them to fend for themselves… or to do what we are doing,” said Councilor Greg Smith in early April, the representative for district two.

In early May, the city asked for the federal government to temporarily stop the releases due to shelters over capacity. However, the United States Border Patrol did not accept the city’s request and instead released more than 100 migrants at a local bus station.

“We’re at capacity and they’re at capacity” said a city spokeswoman in early May.

Monday’s resolution requests “federal immigration reform and reimbursement for city expenses accrued while assisting asylum seekers.”

Watch for ABC-7 reports at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.