El Paso, Texas city officials have declared a state of emergency as border crossings have overwhelmed police personnel.
Mayor Oscar Leeser announced the state of emergency during a news conference Saturday, saying he could no longer keep residents safe.
“I said from the beginning that I would call him when I felt that our asylum seekers or the community were not safe,” Leeser said, according to KFOX14.
El Paso, a city located along the US-Mexico border, continues to see an influx of immigrants into its community. He also expects a surge of immigrants when Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy that reduced the number of asylum seekers the US would allow under the COVID pandemic, expires on December 21.
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“That’s not the way we want to treat people and calling a state of emergency gives us the ability today to be able to do what we couldn’t do until we called it,” Leeser added.
With the emergency declaration, Leeser is requesting additional resources and support from the state.
The request includes asking for support in staffing to feed and house migrants, resources to transport migrants to other cities, and additional police personnel to help ensure the safety of residents and migrants.
“We know the influx on Wednesday [December 21] It will be amazing, it will be huge. On Wednesday our numbers will go from 2,500 to 4,000, 5,000, maybe 6,000,” the mayor said.
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In recent weeks, Leeser and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego have said they saw no need to declare a state of emergency.
Officials also did not want to cede control of the city facilities to Gov. Greg Abbott, who later assured them he would only take action after speaking with the mayor’s office.
“He said ‘Mayor, I’m going to tell you something, we’ll never do anything without talking to you first and we won’t impose anything without talking to you first,” Leeser said.
President Joe Biden has chosen not to continue the Title 42 rules, and the courts have allowed them to lapse. Nineteen red states, including Texas, have filed lawsuits to keep the rules in place.
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The city council will have a change to ratify the declaration, which will remain in force for seven days.
