El Paso Declares Emergency Ahead of Expected Migrant Influx

The mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency Saturday over concerns the city may not be able to manage a major influx of migrants from across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Why it matters: Mayor Oscar Leeser (D) said the city expects to see an increase of migrant arrivals with the ending of the Trump-era Title 42 policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants at the southern border without the chance for asylum.

• Leeser, who previously resisted declaring a state of emergency, said: “hundreds and hundreds” are sleeping on the streets in increasingly colder temperatures.

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• “We know the influx on Wednesday will be incredible. It will be huge. Talking to some of our federal partners, they really believe our numbers will go from 2,500 to four, five or maybe six thousand,” Leeser said, referring to apprehensions and street releases.

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