EL PASO, Texas -- Hundreds of migrants are staying at the El Paso International Airport overnight to wait for their early-morning flights, and city officials fear the numbers will continue to grow during this recent migrant surge.
Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino said between 500 and 600 migrants were staying in the airport every night over the weekend as they waited for their flights.
“But those numbers continue to climb, and that will be a concern. I mean, there’s only so much footprint there. We have a lot of travel going on. There is numerous people looking to get in and out of town, and this is just above and beyond that right now," D'Agostino said during a news conference on Tuesday.
The city is currently busing some migrants to larger nearby-travel hubs, like Dallas and Denver, to take the burden off of El Paso's lone airport.
This is different from El Paso's busing program that sent thousands of Venezuelans to far-away locations like New York City. Venezuelan migrants were "unsponsored," meaning they did not have any money or a place to go once they crossed the border. The migrants being bused to larger travel hubs are sponsored.
“They have a means to get to where they’re going; we’re just going to connect them with a transportation hub so they can get there," D'Agostino said.
The airport has a policy that says anyone waiting for a flight can stay in the airport for only 12 hours. The city is asking migrants who have flights days in advance to find either a shelter or a hotel to stay in before their flight.
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December 15, 2022 at 01:44AM
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El Paso International Airport crowded with migrants waiting for flights - KVIA
"crowded" - Google News
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