Evening temperatures have been in the 20s this week in the sun city of El Paso, Texas. The below-freezing temperatures are cold for anyone who is used to the warm sunny weather of the city and other warm climates.
Thousands of migrants were getting first-hand exposure to the cold temperatures this week as many were sleeping outside in the freezing weather. Border Patrol said they encountered the migrants in downtown El Paso.
In September, when the city was receiving thousands of migrants a day, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser refused to declare a state of emergency. He said the migrants were not staying and would move on to their desired destination.
Now with thousands of migrants sleeping on the street, or at the airport, the mayor may have to declare a State of Emergency or dip into the millions the city has available.
According to KFOX 14, Mayor Leeser said:
"I'm not ready. I will continue to work with Office of Emergency Management and the city manager. It doesn't mean that I am not looking at maybe doing it and making sure that we do it the right way."
With migrants sleeping on the street, and with title 42 ending on December 21, Mayor Leeser may have a change of mind and finally declare a State of Emergency.
On Monday, Congressman Tony Gonzales said:
Migrants sleeping on the streets of El Paso!
This is what the New Ellis Island looks like: 611 migrants out on the streets because the NGOs are out of capacity; every Border Patrol agent in processing centers overcapacity with 5,000 folks. This is exactly what Democrats wanted.
On Tuesday, December 13, the Department of Homeland Defense Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas plans to arrive in El Paso and meet with city and local representatives. He’ll likely bring a report back to President Joe Biden on the current situation in the border city.
Do you think El Paso will declare a State of Emergency?