The City of El Paso has extended an emergency ordinance to allocate municipal resources destined to managing migrant arrivals, especially as federal aid faces uncertainty under the incoming Trump administration.
The news come just weeks after El Paso County announced the impending closure of its Migrant Support Services Center at the end of the year, highlighting the challenges local authorities face in responding to fluctuating migration levels.
The El Paso City Council unanimously approved this week measures to continue funding migrant services and ensure reimbursement for related expenses. Federal funding through the Biden administration's Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which has provided $39.15 million since 2021, is set to expire on December 31, with $13.83 million still available.
"I don't see the funding available going forward whatsoever, so we need to make sure we get everything reimbursed, or we submit everything and make sure we don't end up with a shortfall," city Mayor Oscar Leeser told Border Report.
The emergency ordinance was first implemented in April 2023 and later extended in July of 2024 through a unanimous vote in the City Council
Border Servant Corps is the provider whose services agreement the council ratified on Monday. The group claims to have served 148,436 asylum seekers since 2021 through shelter, travel arrangements assistance, help with finding sponsors, and employment authorization.
The aforementioned Migrant Support Services Center, launched in October 2022 with $29 million in FEMA funding, will still close at the end of the year. The center has assisted approximately 115,000 asylum seekers by coordinating shelter, travel arrangements, and other services.
However, with migrant arrivals declining and federal funding shifting to a reimbursement model under the new Shelter and Services Program, county officials deemed the center's operation financially unsustainable. Despite the center's closure, El Paso County's Office of New Americans will continue offering services to migrants.
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