PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The City of Philadelphia and a number of community organizations say they are ready for the possibility of a rumored bus full of asylum seekers to arrive in Philadelphia this week.
According to a city representative, the Office of Emergency Management was tipped off by a community group in Texas that a bus of about 50 asylum seekers is being sent to Philadelphia. But Fox29 reported Monday evening that Texas is busing people to Washington, New York City and Chicago only, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office.
Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the OEM have been preparing for a surprise scenario like this since the summer. 15 local community-based organizations and partners would help with shelter space, emergency health screening, food, water, and more.
“We're ready. We're ready,” said Emilio Buitrago, co-founder of Casa de Venezuela.
States with Republican governors and legislative majorities like Florida and Texas have delivered migrants to sanctuary areas like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Martha’s Vineyard.
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Thousands of immigrants have been relocated as part of a plan to counter federal immigration policies and President Biden's decision to end Title 42, a public health policy put in action during former President Trump’s term.
In anticipation, Philadelphia is planning a local response to provide basic necessities like food, water, shelter and emergency health screenings to any unexpected arrivals.
HIAS Pennsylvania Executive Director Cathryn Miller-Wilson said they would help to get the migrants settled. She added such migrants are extremely vulnerable and need to be protected from scammers, who know they can’t work for months until they receive legal clearance.
“‘I know you think you can't get work authorization, but I know a way I can do it,’” Miller-Wilson said, describing how scammers work on migrants. “‘Just give me money and I'll get you work authorization.’ And then they take their money and they leave.”
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Sex and work trafficking is also a concern, as is the potential need for mental health assistance following the trauma from their journey.
“Do they need psychological attention?” asked Buitrago. “These are people that are very vulnerable that have come through a lot. I have seen people in the past that I talked to, that literally had to jump over dead bodies on the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama.”
“Because these are people that have fled primarily on foot. They fled extreme danger. Some of them might have been tortured,” Miller-Wilson said.
Philadelphia has been here before. The city has helped Syrian refugees, welcomed evacuees from Afghanistan, and most recently taken in migrants from Ukraine.
Tim Jimenez and Hadas Kuznits contributed to this report.