In the desert near the U.S.-Mexico border, a massive tent is being put up by Border Patrol in preparation for an influx of illegal immigrants once Title 42 expires.
The tent, larger than a football field, is located near El Paso, Texas. The facility will reportedly operate as an “overflow” processing center for immigrants, according to the New York Post, because Border Patrol’s existing processing center in the city will not be enough to handle the tsunami of migrants.
Massive migrant tent erected at border in preparation for end of Title 42 https://t.co/TRrGumMRBF pic.twitter.com/0VlLbK02yj
— New York Post (@nypost) December 27, 2022
El Paso’s Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino said on Friday that El Paso’s central processing center has a capacity of 1,400 with a “breaking point” of 5,000.
“With this surge, they know that they will not be able to hold it,” he said regarding the end of Title 42. CBS 4 reported that the facility will open in January.
“It’s still going to get worse before it even gets better, and that’s what we’re preparing for,” El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser told reporters on Friday.
Security guards at the tent city outside El Paso told Daily Mail that the facility could be in place for “a few weeks, six months, we don’t know.”
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said that Title 42 could stay in place until legal challenges surrounding the policy play out, The New York Times noted.
Last week, Townhall reported that roughly 20,000 migrants were waiting outside of El Paso for Title 42’s expiration, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 21. The Supreme Court kept the policy in place. Title 42 allows Border Patrol to turn away migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the anticipated surge of illegal immigrant crossings, El Paso prepared the city’s convention center to begin housing 1,000 migrants. And, the city opened up two defunct middle school buildings to shelter some migrants, which Julio covered.