EL PASO, Texas — Volunteers at humanitarian organizations at the border fear being arrested and prosecuted for sheltering and feeding homeless illegal immigrants who have been camped outside a church in downtown El Paso for weeks to avoid deportation.
Exasperated leaders from the Annunciation House and Catholic Diocese of El Paso pleaded for mercy during discussions with eight senators who visited West Texas to learn about the migration crisis. Community members who have taken in and cared for these thousands on the street across town fear that Gov. Greg Abbott could target them on criminal charges for assisting in the human smuggling process by protecting people who they know do not have documents to be in the country.
The city has been overwhelmed in responding to releases of immigrants. From mid-August to late December 2022, more than 90,000 immigrants who came across the border illegally in El Paso were released into the community. Most immigrants have gone on to other parts of the country because they were given government documents upon release that allow them to remain in the U.S. through court proceedings.
Although the city was able to get immigrants with documentation off the streets and into a shelter at the convention center, plenty more were left on the street because the city and nonprofit groups are forbidden from spending federal money to assist the unauthorized immigrants in the community. Up to 7,000 immigrants have lingered on the streets of El Paso for several weeks, staying close to churches and humanitarian relief shelters where Border Patrol policy forbids agents from conducting immigration checks.
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