City holds tour of migrant shelter at Bassett Middle School
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The closed Bassett Middle School will temporarily shelter migrants as Title 42 is lifted.
The city has not yet announced an opening time, telling ABC-7 the school will shelter migrants as needed.
Some processed migrants needing shelter can be held at the school for up to 72 hours.
"Case workers will actually be processing them into this facility. And that processing is trying to connect them with their family ones or sponsors, whoever it is, because it was going to help them with transportation so they can make those arrangements," said Deputy City Manager, Mario D'Agostino.
Those case workers will be city employees.
Funded by FEMA, it will also be staffed with Red Cross workers and include 8 security personnel as well as added police patrols.
The school is divided into two groups, families and single male adults. Old band rooms and libraries are going to used for families as well as women and children.
The schools gymnasium, which houses about 275 cots, is going to be used for the single male adults, who we typically see more of.
With thousands in CBP custody right now it is unclear what the expected total will be in the coming days.
"We've seen the numbers are down, but we don't know what's coming in the next day. We don't know what's coming the next ten days. We know that they'll continue to come in, and we'll continue to help them," said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser.
Title 42 will expire May 11, as the federal government's pandemic declaration ends.
Officials with the Office of Emergency Management say the former Morehead Middle School will also become a shelter if additional space is needed.
Bassett Middle School is located in central El Paso. It closed down several years ago when El Paso Independent School District consolidated campuses. The city previously used Bassett as a shelter during an earlier migrant surge last year.
The city says it is working with state and federal leaders to organize their response to the border crisis and provide support, like shelters, as needed.
