El Paso Convention Center opens doors to migrants

EL PASO, Texas-- EL Paso Convention Center opens to migrants.

“We had about 80-90 red cross volunteers from around the country come into El Paso to assist with this operation," said Mario D'Agustino, deputy city manager.

The convention center was prepared in a day. A dining area was set up. Bathrooms are stationed outside. Thousands of cots lined up, complete with American Red Cross blankets placed on top.

“Red Cross has committed to being here for the next few weeks. So, we're utilizing our resources, along with the City of El Paso resources to make sure we can offer the space,” said D'Agustino.

City officials hope to host up to 1,000 migrants in the Convention Center.

"We have the room to expand," said D'Agustino. “The reason why we didn’t expand from the get-go is, we don’t know what the population is truly gonna bring."

Separate sleeping arrangements are set up for single females, single males and families in the Convention Center.

Sponsored migrants are housed as they wait for travel arrangements to leave El Paso.

"You can't get same-day travel out of the Greyhound bus station. That is already on a three-day wait," said D'Agustino "the focus is to get them in to process to help them secure their travel. Hopefully, the availability of flights and buses will improve after the holidays. It's a peak travel season, so that puts the demand."

Once title 42 is lifted, migrants without plans to leave El Paso could also be housed there.

"At this point in time, we're not seeing a lot of people coming through that aren't sponsored, but as it transitions, I'm sure we'll start to see those as well," said D'Agustino.

D'Agustino added the reason the Convention Center was set up so quickly is that it is a city facility.

He said City resources such as El Paso Police and El Paso Fire will be utilized when needed, but two private separate companies will patrol the Convention Center 24/7.