EL PASO, Texas — In this deeply Catholic city, people are keenly aware of the meaning of Christmas, especially the biblical story reenacted in the posadas, or inns, where Mary and Joseph went futilely searching for somewhere to spend the night in Bethlehem.
Today, strangers who have made a long journey fraught with dangers are stranded in this border city on the edge of Texas with nowhere to stay for the night. Instead, these migrants are finding shelter in parking garages, churches and the El Paso International Airport, where they wait overnight for flights to their U.S. destinations after they’ve been processed and vetted by U.S. immigration authorities.
The city has even prepared its massive convention center, just feet away from a 55-foot Christmas tree with over 400,000 lights that cast a warm glow over San Jacinto Plaza and its Winterfest. The annual celebration, complete with an ice-skating rink and a life-size Nativity scene, is a nightly magnet for hundreds of bundled-up families sipping hot chocolate or nibbling on churros.
