El Paso Mayor Declares State of Emergency in Response to an Influx of Asylum-Seekers

El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser has declared a state of emergency in response to an influx of asylum seekers crossing the southern border and the anticipated dangerous temperatures.

Leeser stated the city’s shelters cannot meet the capacity demands as the number of migrants crossing the border could double this week, with Title 42 ( a Trump-era order which allowed the US to send more than 2 million asylum seekers away) coming to an end.

In a press statement Leeser explained, “I said from the beginning that I would call [a state of emergency] when I felt that either our asylum-seekers or our community was not safe.” He continued, “I really believe that today, our asylum-seekers are not safe as we have hundreds and hundreds on the streets and that’s not the way we want to treat people.”

The declaration will remain in effect through December 24, and can be extended by City Council thereafter.

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