Authorities relocated hundreds of illegal migrants temporarily held under a bridge to an indoor Customs and Border Protection station in El Paso, Texas.
The hundreds of migrants caged underneath the Paso Del Norte Bridge in downtown El Paso — a photo of which garnered widespread derision among Democratic politicians — are now in an indoor facility, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman confirmed. From there, authorities will begin processing the migrants.
“Although aliens that were being held in the transitional area are being moved, the building adjacent to Paso Del Norte will continue to serve as a processing facility. The transition should be completed today,” the CBP spokesman said Sunday.
The decision to congregate hundreds of illegal aliens under the Paso Del Norte Bridge was a result of overwhelmed detention facilities having nowhere else to place them. Their resources already stretched thin, immigration enforcement officials constructed fencing under the overpass as a temporary measure. Every detainee was given food, blankets, tents and other basic necessities, according to El Paso Sector spokesman Agent Ramiro Cordero.
“CBP is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis all along our southwest border, and nowhere has that crisis manifested more acutely than here in El Paso,” CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told The Washington Post.
The temporary holding facility earned widespread condemnation from progressives when video of the camp began to circulate on social media in late March.
Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar described the detainment center as “inhumane” and “abhorrent.”
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the camp was unacceptable and renewed her calls to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who represented El Paso during his time in Congress, visited the camp.View image on Twitter
The outdoor camp was first constructed because, as officials argue, they do not have the resources to cope with the influx of illegal immigrants reaching the border. While Ocasio-Cortez and Omar have criticized the Department of Homeland Security for the camp, both lawmakers have previously called for funding cuts to the department.
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