El Paso declares a state of disaster to keep shelters open as migrants continue ... trends now
A border town inundated with 900 immigrants a day has extended a state of emergency to keep shelters open.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser extended the disaster declaration in the Texas city on Thursday for a fourth time as the crisis showed no signs of ending.
Lesser's declaration has to be re-signed every week after the city council failed to renew a longer-term ordinance due to one holdout councilman.
The disaster was extended on the same day President Joe Biden tore into Congressional Republicans for blocking a bipartisan immigration bill during his State of the Union speech.
Biden accused his election opponent Donald Trump of pressuring Republicans to reject the legislation that he argued would have relieved the border crisis.
El Paso, a Texas border town inundated with 900 immigrants a day, has extended a state of emergency to keep shelters open
Lesser said the declaration was needed to maintain emergency plans that allowed public buildings to be used as shelters, and helped charities deliver aid.
'The City of El Paso remains unwavering in its dedication to addressing the pressing humanitarian and public safety issues brought about by the influx of migrants,' he said.
'We recognize the importance of collaborative efforts with the NGOs and humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to those in need, which is why I intend to sign the local Disaster Declaration.
'The impending disaster declaration is a crucial step in mobilizing essential resources and ensuring a coordinated response to the challenges we face in our community.'
El Paso's longer disaster declaration must be unanimously approved by the council, and Josh Acevedo single-handedly blocked it last month.
He said the declaration was not clear enough about how long National Guardsmen and state troopers would be stationed in the city.
'There is not clarity around the exact amount of state resources and law enforcement personnel that have been invited to our community because of these declarations,' he said.
Acevedo said he could change his mind if there was more transparency around certain details in the declaration.
The mayor said the declaration was needed to maintain emergency plans that allowed public buildings to be used as shelters, and helped charities deliver aid
President Joe Biden tore into Congressional Republicans for blocking a bipartisan immigration bill during his State of the Union speech
President Biden used part of his State of the Union address to Congress to speak about the border crisis, mostly calling on Republicans to pass the immigration bill.
Senators from both parties hammered out a deal that would have toughened border policies and provided funding to slash wait times for asylum hearing to six months, among other
