El Paso: Over 2000 Migrants Flood Texas Border City Each Day

The city of El Paso, Texas, finds itself grappling with a challenging situation as a sharp increase in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border has pushed the city to its limits, Reuters reports.

Mayor Oscar Leeser, in a news conference, expressed that the city is at a breaking point, with over 2,000 people daily seeking asylum, surpassing shelter capacity and straining available resources.

The influx of asylum seekers, primarily from Venezuela, is part of a larger surge of immigrants who have undertaken perilous journeys on buses and cargo trains to reach Mexican border towns near San Diego, California, and Texas cities such as El Paso and Eagle Pass.

The recent resurgence in migrant numbers has prompted renewed political debates, with critics raising concerns about the immigration policies of President Joe Biden as the 2024 election looms.

Mayor Leeser announced plans to open a new El Paso shelter while chartering five buses to transport migrants to destinations like New York, Chicago, and Denver.

Notably, the decision to send migrants to various cities has sparked controversy, with some Republican governors in Texas and Florida facing criticism for relocating migrants to cities seen as politically liberal, like New York and Sacramento.

Mayor Oscar Leeser, a Democrat, clarified that the migrants traveling on El Paso's buses were doing so voluntarily, choosing their destination cities.

El Paso Mayor: 'US Immigration System Was Broken'

Regarding the broader immigration issue, Leeser acknowledged that while President Biden has been a cooperative partner, the US immigration system remains broken, per Al Jazeera.

Many Venezuelan migrants lack transportation to reach their desired destinations, and El Paso's shelter, which can accommodate only 400 individuals, also serves the homeless population.

Current demographics of those crossing El Paso reveal that approximately two-thirds are single men, 32 percent are families, and 2 percent are unaccompanied children.

As tensions rise in Texas, the Biden administration dispatched 800 troops to the US-Mexico border, supplementing the 2,500 National Guard members.

Efforts have been made to address the migrant flow by introducing specialized programs to process asylum and visa requests in the migrants' home countries, with repercussions for those not following the rules, including deportations and expulsions.

The administration has also granted temporary legal status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the US by July 31, making it easier for them to work there.

Eagle Pass Suffers the Same Problem as El Paso

Eagle Pass, located about 400 miles east of El Paso, is confronting a similar challenge.

The border town has been overwhelmed by migrants recently, with over 7,500 arriving in a town of 28,000 people in just two days.

In an incident near the US-Mexico border, a group of migrants encountered Border Patrol and National Guard boats.

After two hours of standoff, they eventually crossed the US due to concerns for their well-being.

They refused to budge for an additional two hours while attempting to navigate their way through a razor wire obstacle erected by authorities and refusing to turn back despite repeated instructions.

Following nearly four hours spent in the river and on the bank, guards eventually found it necessary to cut through the razor wire and permit the group to pass through, driven by concerns for their well-being.

A local law enforcement source informed DailyMail.com that this decision was prompted by the scorching heat at the border and the extensive time the group spent exposed to the elements.

The group, predominantly composed of men, included women and children, with a few appearing unwell and dehydrated.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: El Paso at 'breaking point' amid migrant surge, says mayor - From Reuters