EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Community Readiness Center (CRC) has been housing an average of 300 migrants per night since opening last week, City of El Paso officials said.
The City of El Paso activated the CRC — formerly Morehead Middle School — right before the holiday weekend to aid local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who might have faced capacity concerns.
City of El Paso spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said most migrants are just passing through El Paso with the goal of reaching other destinations, and with increased travel demands because of the holidays, migrants had limited options to continue moving forward over the weekend.
The facility is equipped with sleeping quarters, showers and Wi-Fi so that migrants can communicate with sponsors or family. It also offers migrants warm food.
Cruz-Acosta said that City officials continue to monitor the number of migrants crossing at the border, and that the facility could accommodate more people.
“It has the capacity to expand up to 500 if need be. Really, it depends on the need and the type of individuals that are going into the facility. If there’s a lot of families, obviously, there’s going to be fewer folks because the families have a different kind of need in terms of space. Individuals that are single, they have a different type of need and so you have a different level of capacity in that space,” Cruz-Acosta said.
How long the CRC is in operation will depend on how many migrants are coming in and out of El Paso.
Meanwhile, Mexican media are reporting that thousands of migrants coming from south and central Chihuahua have been making their way to the border in the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso sector during the Christmas weekend.
“We understand that there is news from southern Mexico of caravans coming up to the northern community and up to the border region. So we’re just tracking that. But it’s really anybody’s guess in terms of what’s going to happen over the next several weeks,” Cruz-Acosta said.
The City of El Paso has not been using hotels to house migrants since opening the CRC, and have not had to do any street releases this year, City officials said.
The City also continues to send out their roving teams to make contact with migrants to offer them shelter. Cruz-Acosta said some migrants chose to stay out in the street.
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