Thread: City: Taxpayers not on hook for cost of mass releases of migrants by ICE

El Paso citizens will not bear cost of immigrants released by ICE

By: Claudia Tristan
Posted: Dec 27, 2018 08:41 PM CST
Updated: Dec 27, 2018 08:41 PM CST


EL PASO, Texas (CNN) - Tax payers in El Paso, Texas, will not be on the hook for the cost of caring for undocumented immigrants released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency has dropped hundreds of immigrants over the past few days, without an apparent plan for housing them.

But a non-profit group has a place for them to stay.

"The city has been involved since the beginning," said Laura Acosta, spokesperson for the City of El Paso.

On Sunday, ICE dropped about 200 immigrants at the downtown bus station with nowhere to go.

Sun Metro buses took the immigrants to shelters.

Police officers provided security at the bus station.

And fire department EMTs have helped with medical checks.

"We've been primarily working as a support system for the non-profit organizations," said Acosta.

She says federal guidelines determine how much aid the city can provide.

"The primary focus is the non-profit organizations," Acosta said. "They've been serving as housing and sheltering folks, and feeding folks because they're able to tap into funds that the city isn't able to do."

Annunciation House, a non-profit, has taken charge, placing immigrants in its network of 20 shelters.

As hundreds more immigrants were released throughout the week, the city's Office of Emergency Management has continued offering help.

For example, providing cots.

"We're in the process right now of activating another site," said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House. "It's going to be a temporary site. it's a gym that we're going to have access to, where this morning we installed 135 cots and it should be operational tomorrow."

Acosta says the city can't offer to open a shelter because it has to follow specific federal guidelines that constitute an emergency.

"I don't know if we would be able to earn that money back from the federal government," she says.

Regardless of the resources used, Acosta says it's not costing the local taxpayer much.

"The cost to the city so far has been minimal because our PD officers are out there doing their job and securing the city."

Most of immigrants travel out of El Paso a couple of days after being released. They aren't housed for long in the hospitality sites.

https://www.easttexasmatters.com/new...ice/1677348899

Taxpayers are always "on the hook" with illegal immigration.

It may not cost "El Paso" taxpayers in the short term...but you can bet on it that it WILL costs the taxpayers in the cities they ship them out to.

And they will load them up on buses and quickly get them OUT of El Paso to minimize the costs, healthcare, welfare, food stamps, school and crime just like Tijuana and every city on the Mexican border does.

MOVE THEM OUT RAPIDO BACK HOME AND OFF OUR SOIL.

WE ARE NOT ESTUPIDO!!!

THIS WILL COST OUR CITIES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SCHOOL, HEALTHCARE, WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, CRIME, RAPE, DRUGS, GANGS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, COURT, JAIL, LAWYERS AND LAW SUITS THAT THEY SEND THEM TO ACROSS AMERICA!