As of Wednesday, approximately 5,000
asylum applicants have been released from federal custody in Las Cruces
since April 12, according to the city. Internet and telephone services have been activated at the former U.S. Army Reserve Center on Brown Road, which the city began leasing in April as a central processing center for the Central American migrants being released daily by the U.S. Border Patrol. Citing
an unprecedented spike in migrants seeking asylum at ports of entry and
after unauthorized entry into the United States, the Border Patrol's El
Paso sector has reported overflow at its facilities. Las Cruces city spokesman Udell Vigil told the Sun-News that 150
migrants were released by the Border Patrol at the Brown Road center
Wednesday, and those needing overnight accommodation would be transported to the Annunciation House in El Paso or to local churches for shelter. The Brown Road center is available to handle overflow
as well as the Doña Ana County Triage Center, which is no longer in use
for processing. Through April and into May, the
city has said the asylum applicants move on to their sponsor residences
as soon as they make travel arrangements, usually within one to
two days, but with the arrival of a busier travel season departures have
slowed.
Meanwhile, shelters in El Paso and Las Cruces have been crowded and a new tent facility opened by the Border Patrol last week is past its capacity...MORE
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