Officials from the city of El Paso, Texas, have requested the Biden administration order the use of military bases for the housing of illegal aliens as their local resources have been filled beyond capacity.
This plea for expanded housing comes as Customs and Border Protection is reporting approximately 2,500 illegal aliens coming into El Paso each day, overwhelming the city’s existing resources.
As the New York Post reported, the city recorded 5,105 migrants in temporary custody Sunday in a facility designed to hold only 3,500 people.
The expected end of public health expulsion order Title 42 on Dec. 21 has exacerbated the city’s concerns, with many illegal aliens who have recently entered the United States reportedly being forced to sleep on the streets.
BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS: Illegal immigrants are camped out "just a stone's throw from downtown El Paso, burning whatever they can to stay warm overnight" as illegal immigration surges.
If Biden ends Title 42, the border crisis will get much worse. pic.twitter.com/VM38YUc2rz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 13, 2022
El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino told the Daily Caller that he thinks the military can house illegal aliens on bases given that they hosted Afghan refugees following Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
“What we have been saying to all of our federal partners is that this Title 42 going away, with the numbers we’re seeing today is a true emergency for the community,” said D’Agostino. “It’s a federal crisis that’s happening on the border of El Paso. With that, they’re gonna need to do some federal operation, maybe like what we saw with the Afghans.”
Local homeless shelters have faced capacity surges as well amid these illegal crossings.
John Martin, who serves as deputy director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, told the Daily Caller, “we’re gonna need operations like that. If they’re already having apprehensions of 2,500 a day when Title 42 is in place, when that goes the number could go much higher.”
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Devin T. Robinson has reportedly claimed that the Defense Department has not received such requests from the Department of Homeland Security.
As it stands, El Paso has spent over $5 million to take care of illegal aliens between July and September and is still waiting for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the costs. The city projects it will be forced to spend millions more, predicting the need for another $4.7 million as border crossings continue.
