El Paso struggling as illegal immigration surges ahead of Title 42 expiration
El Paso, Texas Mayor Oscar Leeser on the city declaring a state of emergency
The mayor of El Paso, Texas, a border town, is warning that there is "no light at the end of the tunnel" as illegal immigrants prepare to cross into the U.S. just days before a Trump-era border policy ends on Thursday.
"We are getting prepared now for the unknown. The unknown is how many people will come here," El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser told reporters this month, according to The New York Times.
"Federal immigration laws are broken, and they didn’t break during this administration or the last administration," Leeser said. "We have to figure out where we are heading. There is no light at the end of the tunnel."
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A total of 58 illegal migrants were found in the back of the Penske truck during an alleged human smuggling bust in El Paso (Texas Department of Public Safety)
Leeser was speaking out as Title 42, a Trump-era pandemic policy that has been used to expel hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from different countries back to Mexico, is scheduled to end on May 11 at 11:59 pm.
Leeser’s home of El Paso has been especially devastated by the flood of immigrants that have crossed the border, with The New York Times describing the scene as "a tableau of human misery fanned out for several blocks, with destitute migrants occupying every spit of sidewalk" in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Three cities in Texas have declared a state of emergency, including El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has claimed that the "border is not open" after receiving criticism from both Republicans and Democrats about his border policies. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The New York Times also wrote that the end of Title 42 is "setting the stage for what could be a new immigration surge that inflames political tensions and strains resources across the southern border."
President Joe Biden’s border czar, Alejandro Mayorkas, has attempted to deflect criticism for the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the border. Mayorkas argued Sunday that illegal immigration is a "decades-long problem" that "hasn't been fixed since the '90s."
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Migrant Crossings At Southern Border Increase Ahead Of Title 42 Expiration BROWNSVILLE, TX - MAY 04: A Border Patrol agent leads migrants to a temporary processing tent on May 4, 2023 in Brownsville, Texas. Two days ago President Biden announced that 1,500 active-duty troops would be sent to the U.S.-Mexico border as Title 42 is expected to expire next week. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images) (Michael Gonzalez)
"The border is not open," Mayorkas said Friday in Brownsville, Texas, alongside Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. "It has not been open, and it will not be open subsequent to May 11. And the smugglers who exploit vulnerable migrants are spreading misinformation. They are spreading false information, lies in a way to lure vulnerable people to the southern border and those individuals will only be returned."
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor Leeser's office for additional comment but has yet to receive a response.