Migrant Releases at Texas Border Continue as New York City Struggles with New Arrivals

MCALLEN, Texas — The Biden administration continues to release migrants into the United States to pursue pending asylum. At the other end of the nation, New York City struggles to accommodate hundreds of migrants arriving daily.

According to one Venezuelan national, migrants are being removed from New York City hotels to accommodate the new arrivals. Some migrants, according to the source, are unsure of what the future holds for them as New York City-provided shelter space fills.

Complicating the situation is the constant flow of migrants across the southwest border. On Monday, Breitbart Texas posted outside the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in downtown McAllen, Texas, as migrants departed the shelter aboard buses destined for cities across the United States. As some migrants departed the Catholic Charities-run shelter, others were being released to the non-government shelter by the Border Patrol after being processed from a nearby processing facility.

The constant flow of migrants at the southwest border makes the efforts to decompress taxpayer-funded shelters at once welcoming sanctuary cities almost futile. In the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, more than 1,000 migrants were apprehended daily, according to Customs and Border Protection in October. Most of those migrants apprehended are ultimately released to pursue asylum claims in the United States at any destination of their choosing.

WKND RECAP! Our #RGV Border Patrol Agents are doing a phenomenal job everyday, doing their best to secure 277 miles of border region! Super proud of my RGV Team!
1,219 Migrant Apprehensions
96 Gotaways
8 Human Smuggling Cases
11 Human Smugglers
9 Narcotics Seizures
1 Large Group pic.twitter.com/t8hsoPg3rT

— Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefRGV) November 21, 2023

According to CBP, more than 120,000 migrants were released on their own recognizance to pursue asylum claims or apply for other relief. This accounts for nearly two-thirds of the 187,788 migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents along the southwest border in October.

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Far from the southwest border, New York City continues its efforts to relieve the strain on taxpayers due to the constant migrant arrivals. Danny, a Venezuelan national released in Brownsville, Texas, to pursue an asylum claim — now living in New York City — tells Breitbart some of his migrant acquaintances are being removed from the shelter system operated by the city and offered one-way transportation out of the Big Apple. Danny provided photographs of migrants who had been denied shelter at a city-operated tent facility on Sunday and were unsure of what their next move would be.

One migrant was photographed sleeping on the floor of a newly established re-ticketing office opened specifically to fund and coordinate one-way travel to other parts of the United States or to the migrant’s home country. Other migrants in the re-ticketing office sat nearby, waiting to be provided additional information concerning their options for shelter.

In November, as reported by Breitbart Texas, migrants alleged a fire alarm was deployed at a New York City-run migrant shelter to force the evacuation and relocation of migrants who had reached the latest 30-day limit on shelter stays. The alleged activation of the alarm and ensuing chaos captured on video by the migrants is a clear sign the situation is becoming unmanageable for the city of more than eight million inhabitants.

The effort to decompress the shelter system in New York City is just one part of the daily struggle to battle overcrowding at Border Patrol detention facilities, non-government shelters in border cities, and overcrowding facing New York City and several other large metropolitan areas across the United States.

The system of daily migrant apprehensions, releases to non-government shelters, and efforts by cities within the United States to provide shelter to many migrants who have no relatives in the country is costly. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), $363 million was allocated during fiscal year 2023 to enable non-federal entities to off-set allowable costs incurred for services associated with migrant arrivals in their communities under the FEMA Shelter and Services Program.

More than $35 million was allocated to Catholic Charities at the southwest border in FY 2023 to provide shelter and coordinate travel for migrants released by the Border Patrol. The Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen is but one recipient of this funding.

In June, the Biden administration announced a $104 million allocation to New York City to offset costs associated with sheltering more than 110,000 migrants that have traveled to the city since late 2022. The figure falls way short of Mayor Eric Adam’s estimate of $12 billion needed to provide shelter to migrants through 2025.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.

Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.