(New York Post) In the middle of the West Texas desert, a giant tent — bigger than a football field — is being thrown up by the US Border Patrol as El Paso prepares for a human tidal wave to cross the border with Mexico as soon as the Title 42 health policy comes to an end.
The makeshift facility northeast of downtown will serve as an overflow processing center when Title 42 expires — which could happen as soon as this week, depending on whether the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Biden administration from 19 Republican-led states who want to keep the policy in place.
The Border Patrol already has a Central Processing Center in El Paso, but it will not be able to meet the demand post-Title 42 – when as many as 5,000 migrants per day are anticipated to enter the city.
“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 said Friday. “That’s what I call the unknown.”
“As we know [Border Patrol’s] CPC, central processing center, has a capacity of 1,400; we know that their breaking point is 5,000,” El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino said at a public meeting the same day. “With this surge, they know that they will not be able to hold it.”
A facility to house and process migrants built by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is visible near US-54 – and is larger than a football field.New York Post
The Border Patrol already has a Central Processing Center in El Paso, but it will not be able to meet the demand post-Title 42.REUTERS
El Paso officials have previously said as many as 20,000 migrants are waiting in Mexico, hoping to gain entry into the US after Title 42 goes away.
On Monday, fewer migrants were lined up on the Mexican side of the border compared to last week. Some of the lighter traffic was due to word reaching them that Title 42 was still in effect — for now. Some of it was due to additional enforcement put in place by Texas officials.
Shipping containers forming a border barrier have been put in place by members of the Texas National Guard. The Texas Military Department has also added three rows of concertina razor wire near a popular border crossing in El Paso.
“They’re focused on deterrence. They’re focused on sending a message that unlawful crossings is not an option,” said Mayor General Ronald “Win” Burkett in a video tweeted from the Texas Military Department’s official account on Christmas Day. “You’ve got to go the POE [port of entry].”
Burkett noted that the department had shifted “400 people to El Paso, over 40 vehicles … in 72 hours.”
If and when Title 42 ends, migrants seeking asylum in the US will be expected to turn themselves into US officials at the Paso Del Norte International bridge in El Paso.
The makeshift facility northeast of downtown will serve as an overflow processing center when Title 42 expires.James Keivom
