SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio is changing the way it welcomes migrants and trying to make the process more efficient.
A new migrant resource center has opened, but some migrants still wait outside Travis Park before they take their bus or plane to their next destination.
Many volunteers are trying to make that wait easier. It’s about getting from point A to B, but the journey isn’t that easy for migrants legally entering the United States.
“They travel or many months often times, coming on foot, for some of them, it’s been years since they’ve been displaced from their home country,” said Katie Myers with the Interfaith Welcome Coalition.
Myers helps migrants travel through San Antonio, connecting them with food, water and shelter. She’s volunteered with the group for four years, but she didn’t know her journey with the group would go this far.
“I always tell people I started off making sandwiches. It all started with a sandwich and now I have to be in charge of the bus station administration,” Myers said.
The City of San Antonio is averaging 600 migrants traveling through town each day. Since April 2021, more than 198,000 people have transited through San Antonio in route to their final destination. Myers has also noticed an uptick.
“It’s been a really busy year. We’ve definitely seen numbers that are outside of what we’ve experienced in the past,” Myers said.
The migrants may not just be resting at Travis Park, but other locations around town. The city opened a new migrant resource center which operates through partnership with the city and non-profits like the Interfaith Welcome Coalition.
Through July 20, approximately 8,000 migrants have arrived at the resource center according to the city’s Department of Human Services.
The city tells KENS 5 the Migrant Resource Center was created to allow for a single point-of-entry for migrants, but migrants still do complete onward travel through San Antonio through the Airport and various bus stations.
Myers says it is gratifying to her that she can help migrants along their way.
“To me what I usually tell people is we’re responsible for how we treat people, it mattered to me how people are received when they enter the United States looking for home and safety, and that was something I can do something about,” Myers said.
If you're interested in volunteering with the non-profit, you can visit their website.