El Paso council members call for Biden to visit border as humanitarian crisis continues
The El Paso City Council unanimously voted to extend its emergency declaration by at least 30 days as the humanitarian crisis that has resulted in scores of migrants sleeping in the street continues.
The action came from several council representatives and residents late Friday night who spoke during the public comment section of the emergency meeting and deplored what they called the “militarization” of the Texas border by Gov. Greg Abbott.
City representatives also repeated a plea that for two years has been all but shouted by the state’s Republican leadership: The border crisis demands the hands-on attention of the White House.
“I believe President Joe Biden needs to come to El Paso,” said outgoing council Rep. Claudia Rodriguez.
Rep. Isabel Salcido said: “I do believe Biden needs to come here to El Paso.”
The governor responded immediately to the city’s emergency declaration Dec. 17.
Three days later, under the cover of darkness, Texas National Guard troops stationed Humvees and staged reams of concertina wire on northern edge of the Rio Grande. The soldiers gripped their rifles in the face of men, women and children seeking asylum.
The council did not indicate if it would ask Abbott to remove the troops and razor wire. The governor says he plans to install a “blockage.”
El Paso city leaders acknowledged that the extended emergency declaration alone will not fully manage the crisis.
Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino stressed that the city, working with non-profit organizations, migrant advocates and clergy, is doing everything it can to move migrants to shelters and out of freezing conditions. Many, however, are refusing assistance.
Lesser, himself, has pleaded with migrants to move to shelters. The migrants, allowed legal entry into the U.S. to seek asylum, have fallen prey to abuse. Some are fearful to accept local assistance.
In cases where migrants insist on sleeping in the streets, the city has parked buses at the curbside so the migrants can use them as heating stations.
“What we’re doing now is strictly a band-aid on a broken system that needs to be fixed,” Mayor Oscar Leeser told the council and those attending the meeting.
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