EL PASO, Texas — The sidewalks around Sacred Heart Church that was choked with illegal immigrants and migrants who were processed and released by Border Patrol are now mostly empty ahead of Title 42 expiring right before midnight on Thursday. The reason for this, migrants who still remained said, was due to the city making a concerted effort to put people in the emergency shelters they stood up ahead of the expected bigger influx of illegal crossings.
The relief has been welcomed in the city as food runs and donations no longer need to be on a hourly basis. There now does not need to be as many officers patrolling the street. A manager at a local convenience store even complained to me they had seen a drop in business now that there are not as many migrants close by. But the fear is that once the emergency shelters are full, in addition to the long-standing shelters also being full, the city will go back to having a large number of people sleeping on the streets once Title 42 ends.
Most of the people crossing in the region are being kept by a gate along the border, waiting in lines, exposed to the elements before being processed. It keeps people out of the streets of El Paso for some time before being released with notices to appear.
It is being described as the calm before the storm.
Of course, this is by one area of the border that is being overwhelmed with illegal crossings. In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, thousands of people continue to wade through the river, with Mexican authorities barely making any effort to deter them.
There was even a shooting today on an international bridge that connects Pharr, Texas and Reynosa, Tamaulipas.
BREAKING: Heavy gunfire reported at Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge, which connects Texas and Tamaulipas, Mexico
— Intel Point Alert (@IntelPointAlert) May 10, 2023
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I've been covering the border for a long time now and I can say this is the worst shape I have seen it in. Ever. Everything is imploding and chaos is reigning supreme. But according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, everything is going to plan and the border is not open.
DHS Sec. Mayorkas, as a record number of people are illegally crossing the southern border right now: "Let me be clear, the lifting of the Title 42 public health order does not mean our border is open. In fact, it is the contrary." pic.twitter.com/hChzdhe8op
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 10, 2023