SAN ANTONIO — As Title 42 remains in legal limbo, San Antonio and non-profits are preparing for a potential surge in asylum seekers.
The COVID-era immigration policy was originally set to expire on Dec. 21, but the Supreme Court halted the lifting of Title 42 after Republican officials from 19 states filed a petitioned, citing safety concerns.
Title 42 permits federal authorities to expel undocumented immigrants by using COVID-19 as a justification.
Opponents argue the policy violates asylum seekers’ due process rights.
Cameron County Public Health provides guidance for organizations that run migrant shelters near the border. During the pandemic, the county helped administer COVID-19 shots.
“Whether it’s COVID, influenza even, chicken pox, anything that’s infectious. We have the education and material. It’s just waiting to see what shelters request it,” said Ashley Ruiz with Cameron County Public Health.
Organizations such as RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) are preparing to help as many people as possible in the coming weeks by providing free legal services for asylum seekers who are undergoing the expedited removal process.
Javier Hidalgo, director of pre-removal services, noted Title 42 serves as an unnecessary hurdle for migrants who’ve come to the country legally.
“Almost everyone that’s coming to the United States has a destination in mind and are trying to get there to the extent they get to an area that we serve, we’re going to serve them,” Hidalgo said.
San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center, run in partnership by the city and Catholic Charities, has welcomed close to 92,000 people since opening in July.
City spokesman Roland Martinez stressed preparations are underway to accommodate migrants pending the lifting of Title 42. Martinez said in an emailed statement:
“The City of San Antonio is aware of the influx and continues to manage the daily count and prepare for the count to increase due to title 42 lifting in the near future. We are able to manage capacity at the Migrant Resource Center by working with local and border nonprofit and faith-based partners. These are the organizations that transport the migrants to San Antonio upon their release from U.S. Border Patrol. If necessary, we ask these organization to halt transportation to San Antonio for the day. We also transport migrants to the airport if necessary. Right now we take the migrants to the airport if their plane leaves within six hours. If necessary we expand the timeframe and take them if they leave within 12 hours.”
On Dec. 15, the City Council gave the greenlight for accepting $3 million of federal reimbursement funding to continue operating the Migrant Resource Center through March.