Juarez shutting down shelter as migrant arrivals plummet

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – More than 30,000 people pursuing the American dream have taken a temporary respite in a Juarez, Mexico, gym converted to a migrant shelter in 2019.

But with a noticeable decrease in asylum-seekers arriving at the border – and an urgent need to keep young people away from drugs, idleness and criminal activity – the city is planning to again repurpose the facility.

“I am very enthusiastic about the rescue of Kiki Romero Gym. We are going to invest a lot of money to have basketball and boxing and return this space to the young people of Colonia Azteca,” Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar said.

The facility can accommodate up to 135 migrants in bunk beds placed over the hardwood but has been sparsely populated since June 4. That’s when a White House executive order effectively shut down asylum except through appointments at ports of entry.

The U.S. Border Patrol in July apprehended 11,615 migrants between ports of entry in the El Paso Sector. Most of them were Mexican nationals who typically are looking for temporary work in the United States, not seeking asylum.

That compares to 23,478 migrant encounters in May and 30,397 in April.

Perez Cuellar said DIF – the city’s child and family protection agency – is remodeling three family centers to accommodate migrant families and unaccompanied minors who might still come. A fourth facility to house women and a fifth for single males will be built in the coming months.

All of that is being paid with a $10 million grant from the Mexican federal government. Plans call for the gym to close as a shelter before year’s end to make room for construction.

“Obviously, all the people at Kiki Romero will be moved to the new facilities. We don’t know how many because migration trends fluctuate,” Human Rights Office Director Santiago Gonzalez Reyes said.

The intent is for the new family centers to be used by the community at large and not just by migrants, Perez Cuellar said. They will have learning and workshop areas and possibly libraries. The women’s and family centers will have a self-sufficiency curriculum for guests.

The shelter portion of the centers can sleep up to 300 migrants, city officials said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.