
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency in response to the worsening migrant crisis, which has left scores sleeping on the streets in the past few days.
While Leeser has long opposed issuing a state of emergency declaration, he said Saturday’s move would allow the city to tap into much-needed additional resources that will no longer be necessary only when Title 42 deportation ends on December 21st.
Leeser said the sight of people on the streets of downtown with temperatures dropping below freezing was the catalyst for a decision in the works Friday night.
Migrants brave freezing temperatures, struggle to travel out of El Paso
“That’s not the way we want to treat people,” Leeser said during a news conference Saturday afternoon.
He said the rise would be “unbelievable” after Wednesday, when daily concerns and street issues could rise to as high as 6,000 a day.
El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino said the state emergency declaration would give the city more flexibility to operate larger shelter operations and provide additional transportation for arriving asylum seekers.

The city has requested additional personnel for nutrition and housing operations, additional bus operations and state law enforcement.
“It’s for their own good… the members of the community and everyone involved,” D’Agostino said.
As the numbers continue to rise, D’Agostino said, additional state resources will be critical to ensure enough space to shelter those who can’t get out of town right away.
El Paso seeks state, federal aid ahead of expected migrant surge as Title 42 expires
“We want to make sure we’re prepared for that and we can respond to that, so this is just the next step to make sure we’re ready,” D’Agostino said.
The mayor was out on the streets of downtown El Paso Friday night and early Saturday morning when it became clear that additional measures would be necessary to deal with the influx. He spent most of Saturday in conference calls with county, state and federal colleagues setting the stage for the emergency declaration.
Among those he said have been “instrumental” in working with state officials is Texas Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, who said in a statement released Saturday that “the situation has superseded the capacity of our local government and with Title 42 set to. expires next week, the demand for resources has increased.”
“I support the city of El Paso’s Disaster Declaration to activate a whole-of-government approach to address this unprecedented crisis,” he added.
Although there are concerns about the approach of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott regarding the flood of asylum seekers coming into the city, Leeser said the governor assured him his office would not do anything without consulting the city first.
“This is bigger than El Paso,” Leeser said. “This is a question of the United States (about) working with each other.”