Migrant shelters that helped nearly a thousand asylum seekers per day at the height of migrant crossings a few years ago are now nearly empty. The shelters mostly along the Texas-Mexico border reported a plunge in the number of people in their care since the Trump administration effectively closed the border to asylum seekers in January. Some expect to close by the end of the month, the Texas Tribune reports. McAllen officials reported an average of fewer than 12 people arriving at the respite center run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley this month and are on track to have fewer than 350 people in February. In January, the respite center received 3,188 people. The asylum seekers who arrive at these shelters are dropped off by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after they have been processed by immigration officials and given a notice to appear in immigration court at a later date. The staff at the shelters provide food, a place to stay, and other necessities until the migrants move on to their final destination in the U.S.
Annunciation House, an El Paso-based migrant shelter network, has a total of about 40 people at the shelters, says director Ruben Garcia. Because of the small number of people in their shelters, only four of the more than 20 facilities in their network are in operation. Garcia said he will likely close more by the end of the month, keeping only one or two open. Migrant arrivals began to dwindle under the Biden administration. This was partly due to the Mexican government’s efforts to crack down on immigration and a Biden’s executive order last summer that did not allow people to apply for asylum if they entered the country between ports of entry. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, says about 14,000 immigrants have been arrested in the three-plus weeks since President Trump took office. A possible reason Trump's arrest rate isn't matching Biden's: The publicity surrounding the new president's tough talk on immigration has fueled a dramatic dip in the number of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally on the southern border. When Biden was still in office, Annunciation House received a daily average of 250 to 300 people, which Garcia said was low. "Even before the election, the numbers were already significantly down," Garcia said. Another El Paso shelter, Casa del Sagrado Corazon, also saw fewer arrivals last year, prompting its closure in September, said director Michael Debruhl.
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