DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - A busload of asylum-seekers from an overcrowded shelter in El Paso is expected to arrive in Dallas by the end of the week.
The privately-funded effort to house the migrants temporarily is led by a coalition of Dallas faith-based groups.
Most of those headed for North Texas are from Central America. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said, "All of these people surrendered at a checkpoint at our border. There are no unauthorized crossings in this group, and all of them have been vetted by our Customs and Border Protection and released onto the streets of El Paso."
The Dallas groups are taking in the migrants from the El Paso shelter Annunciation House, which has been overwhelmed during the recent border surge. Those who are bussed to Dallas will stay in donated hotel rooms temporarily.
Jenkins expects a couple of busloads from El Paso each week in the short term. He stressed the effort is not a resettlement. "They'll go back for their court date. They'll ultimately be determined to have a credible claim and be granted asylum or they won't. We're just helping get them from the border where they've been released to wherever it is they're going."
Jenkins said most of the feedback to the plan has been positive, although there has also been scattered criticism. "We've had some negative voicemails and things from people that are under the misimpression that taxpayer money is being spent on this. That we're inviting people to come and live here long-term. That this is a resettlement situation, rather than just a respot center on the way to where they're going."
The first migrants to arrive from El Paso will be welcomed by Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, which is part of the sponsoring coalition.
