With migrant increase lurking, El Paso governments consider emergency declaration for federal aid
by Cindy Ramirez
May 19, 2022
A 1-year-old Haitian girl plays with her mother's phone while at El Paso's Casa del Refugiado. Most families stay for just a few days before moving on to other parts of the country. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Luis and Brunette celebrated their son’s fifth birthday at Casa del Refugiado, surrounded by a few hundred strangers who, like them, are seeking asylum in the United States.
“Celebramos dándole mucho amor y dándole gracias a Dios que tenemos vida,” Luis said in Spanish on Wednesday at the East Side shelter run by Annunciation House. “We’re celebrating by giving him lots of love and thanking God that we are alive.”
Originally from Haiti, the family over the past few years made its way to Chile, Brazil then Mexico before crossing into El Paso from Juárez on Sunday. They turned themselves in to border law enforcement officials, who released them from custody to the shelter on Monday.
They’re waiting for Brunette’s brother, who traveled with them, to be released from custody before heading to Florida. El Paso Matters only identifies migrants by first name because many are fleeing violence and fear for their safety.
https://elpasomatters.org/2022/05/19/with-migrant-increase-lurking-el-paso-governments-consider-emergency-declaration-for-federal-aid/
