Texas Residents Protest and Halt Construction of a New Migrant Shelter in the Area

ALABAMA - Residents of Ciudad Juárez, a Texas city located at the U.S. southern border, are protesting the creation of a new migrant shelter there. Just like other places in the U.S. including New York, Denver and other so-called "sanctuary cities," Juarez has seen the arrival of thousands of migrants over the past years. And residents who oppose the project argue that the Praderas del Sol neighborhood has enough problems and the shelter would compound on them.

Even though apprehensions at the southern border rose slightly in August, monthly crossings are still about 80% less compared to December, when over 200,000 migrants were caught trying to enter the U.S. between ports of entry. Many migrants are now choosing to stay in different parts of Mexico, including Mexico City, where they await for a resolution in their asylum requests. The shift has largely had to do with a decision by the Biden administration to severely restrict asylum seeking at the border when crossings cross a certain threshold over a week.

Despite the drop in arrivals, residents of Praderas del Sol took cardboard signs on Oct. 2 to the construction zone of the shelter and placed themselves in front of heavy machinery grading the soil, momentarily halting construction.

"We are here to stop the construction of this shelter for migrants. It is something we don't need," said Beatriz Paredes, whose children attend the nearby elementary and middle schools. "We will be affected, and the children will be affected. A lot of children walk (to school) by themselves. We are not saying they (the migrants) are bad, but we don't know what habits they have," Paredes added.

The facility under construction is one of five multipurpose centers Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF), a family services agency, is building throughout Juárez to shelter single women, moms with their children fleeing domestic violence, as well as migrants passing through the city.

The new facilities are all part of a $10 million grant funded by the Mexican federal government, which will repurpose the current Kiki Romero migrant shelter, which opened in 2019 and has accommodated over 300,000 people since, back into a gym and a facility to serve as a recreational center for young people.