President Biden Plans to House Migrants at a Texas Military Base

Fort Bliss housing AfghansPhoto byImages from Twitter

Last week a Federal Judge struck down Title 42 which was established under the Trump administration during COVID. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Title 42 allowed law enforcement to remove border crossers and illegal aliens who crossed the Texas-Mexican border.

Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas asked for five more weeks before the law was overturned. So, Title 42 will remain in effect until December 21 which is less than four weeks from now.

A city official referenced how Afghans were housed at Fort Bliss last year and believe the same should be done for migrants crossing the Texas-Mexican border.

At a city council meeting, it was discussed opening Fort Bliss to house migrants once Title 42 is lifted.

An official said:

“We have made that point very clear to the federal government that, you know, one way to solve this also would be to open up Fort Bliss — no different than how we did with the Afghans.”

“We’ve reached out, we’ve challenged everyone we’ve talked to … with respect to this crisis.”

Carlos Rivera, spokesperson for U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector said:

"We’re still operating under Title 42 here for the El Paso Sector, we’re still expelling those migrants that are amenable to Title 42 but again, the majority of the migrants are possibly looking to seek asylum, their nationalities that are not amenable for Title 42.”

Here's a video on how some Afghans were treated a year ago:

Congressional Representative Escobar asks for more funding

On Tuesday, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar sent a letter to the Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro and Ranking Member Chuck Fleishmann. She asked them to prioritize 2023 funding for the El Paso processing center.

She wrote:

“In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) purchased 60 acres of land from the City of El Paso as the first step in building a new JPC for the region; this land was purchased using funds from the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Package for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act of 2019.”

“The updated facility would increase CBP and El Paso’s capacity to efficiently process migrants and ease overcrowding at existing processing centers, which are too old and small to adequately handle current processing needs. However, construction on the facility had not started before the funding from 2019 had to be repackaged and re-appropriated to prevent losing it, leaving CBP with 60 acres of land and no funding for further development.”

She added:

“With additional funding for JPCs available in the final FY23 appropriations bill, I would like to stress the importance of affording communities that consistently welcome migrants into their cities, like El Paso, the opportunity to modernize outdated infrastructure that no longer meets the challenges presented by the new normal of 21st-century immigration.”

Escobar concluded:

“Local leaders and stakeholders in El Paso have had to assist the federal government over the years through evolving and emerging immigration challenges. For decades El Paso has had to support the federal government, which has failed to adequately address the growing numbers of migrants at the southern border. Congress has failed to modernize antiquated immigration laws and for decades has addressed immigration policy as border policy. At the same time, the situation has become more unsustainable as immigration is increasingly driven by political instability and accelerating climate change in equatorial countries.”

“I urge the Committee to consider El Paso a recipient for JPC funding in FY23. Thank you for your consideration of my request as you finalize the final FY23 appropriations bill.”

Veronica Escobar is working to make the situation better in the new year for El Paso.

What do you feel about Fort Bliss accepting migrants once title 42 is lifted?