WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (Portal) – The US Border Patrol this week began building a giant tent, larger than a football field, in the middle of the desert near the border town of El Paso, Texas, to welcome migrants.
Authorities expected a flood of migrants following the possible expiry of Title 42, a regulation that allows swift deportation of undocumented migrants and denies asylum applications on health grounds due to the spread of COVID-19.
Although the ordinance was due to end on December 21, the US Supreme Court blocked that order last week after a court ruling calling for it to be overturned, ruling this Tuesday to keep the border restrictions in place. The court ruled in favor of 19 states that requested the policy be maintained.
El Paso authorities, quoted by the New York Post, reported that approximately 20,000 people in Mexico are waiting to enter the United States if Title 42 is lifted. “The situation will only get worse before it gets better,” which we are preparing,” said the city’s Mayor Oscar Leeser.
According to a warden at the site where the tent is being built, the facility could be open “for a couple of weeks or six months,” with no further details about the construction. (Text and photos: RT)