More than 300 migrants dropped off in Phoenix this weekend
More than 300 migrants dropped off in Phoenix this weekend, advocates say
BrieAnna J Frank and Ali Phillips, Arizona RepublicPublished 7:45 p.m. MT March 17, 2019 | Updated 9:21 p.m. MT March 17, 2019
Federal immigration authorities have been releasing large groups of migrant families from Central America at local churches in Phoenix. Nick Oza, The Republic | azcentral.com
Immigration officials on Sunday morning dropped off 185 legally-processed migrants at a Phoenix Greyhound bus station, advocates said, just hours after they'd been told there would be no drop-off.
Advocates said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials also unexpectedly dropped off four bus loads of migrants — totaling about 160 people — in Phoenix on Saturday.
The volunteers said churches and volunteers are overwhelmed. They're begging ICE to give them more notice about the drop-offs, and asking city of Phoenix officials to step up and help.
"We are asking for three things: advance notice from ICE, a centralized shelter and some funding for these organizations," said Javier Torres, who volunteers for Last Mile AZ, which helps individuals and families that have been accepted into the U.S. as asylum seekers with their travel arrangements.
He said the requests come from multiple churches and organizations helping with the effort, not just his.
According to recent ICE statistics, officials released 14,500 migrants in the Phoenix area between Dec. 21 and early March. During that same period, they released 37,500 in communities in south Texas, 24,000 in El Paso and 8,500 in San Diego.
Who is being dropped off?
The families and individuals ICE is dropping at the Phoenix bus station have begun the legal process of seeking asylum. These are individuals who have a sponsor or relative living in the United States.
After leaving ICE custody, the migrants have seven to 10 days to travel to their sponsor's location, where they must appear in front of a judge.
For most of them, Torres said, Phoenix is a brief stop on their way to their sponsor in another state. They stay long enough for advocates to help them organize that next leg of their journey, but they sometimes need a place to stay for a day or two.
For the two groups that arrived this weekend, volunteers were able to find places for all of them to stay, Torres said.
But he said the unannounced Sunday drop-off left volunteers and advocates scrambling.
A flow of people
Before ICE releases a migrant, officials identify who they are going to stay with long term.
"When ICE does the drop-off, they have one sheet of paper for their family that has a name and phone number of the relative or sponsor," Torres said. "ICE hands that sheet to a volunteer; the staff arranges the travel, which is usually a day or two."
Torres explained it can be stressful for volunteers because of the number of arrangements they need to make last minute. He said if ICE could provide the contact information for relatives and sponsors sooner, then the families or individuals will only be in Phoenix for a few hours rather than a day or two.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webpOver dozens of Central American migrants were dropped off at a Phoenix Greyhound bus station by ICE federal officials while a group of volunteers tries to help them. Most of the church and organization are running out of resources too. (Photo: Nick Oza, Nick Oza)
Sunday's group was the latest in a series of migrant drop-offs that began late last year and has been continuing on and off ever since. Local church volunteers have been working to accommodate them, but their resources have become increasingly strained.
Many arrive without a change of clothes, food or money.
The weekend drop-offs came just over a week after another 50 or so migrants, mostly from Central America, were dropped off at a Greyhound station near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on March 8.
Many of those migrants had been in the United States less than 24 hours, and some have waited at a port of entry at the Arizona-Mexico border for about two months to make their case for asylum.
ICE and city of Phoenix officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Arizona Republic.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...um/3196718002/
