As the temperature plummets in San Antonio, a local migrant resource center is facing an acute shortage of warm clothing, blankets, and food for the influx of migrants seeking shelter and a new start. Residents living near the center have noticed an increase in people asking for help in their neighborhood, raising concerns over adequate resources and care for these individuals. "What I see is mass chaos," Ione McGinty, a local resident, told KENS 5.
McGinty reported witnessing migrants behind a shopping center engaging in prostitution, and many hungry individuals begging for food in the area. One migrant, Jenefer Melo from Venezuela, expressed her need for basic necessities while en route to California. "Clothes for the cold, we didn't know it gets so cold, blankets and food. What is going on here is that they give us little food," Melo disclosed in an interview with KENS 5. Concerned members of the community like Maria Terrazas have stepped in to aid where they can, with Terrazas advising those who are able to, should offer their help to the migrants in need of winter clothing and food.
In response to the overflowing migrant center, the city has ramped up its efforts by bifurcating migrants with future flights, sending them to a facility at the San Antonio International Airport set up with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This transfer center, costing $260,000 monthly, has been operational for months quietly facilitating the needs of migrants, as the city admitted this week, according to a report by the San Antonio Report. Despite the Wi-Fi and seating provided, the lack of beds has left families and individuals exposed to the elements as they await their onward journey.
The Migrant Resource Center (MRC), managed by Catholic Charities since July 2022, is buckling under the pressure of continuous migrant arrivals, forcing expansion into a parking area to accommodate the surge. "We were completely unprepared, and we had a lot of people in the parking lot," admitted Antonio Fernandez, CEO of Catholic Charities, who mentioned the need for thrice as many blankets and more clothes, as per the San Antonio Report. The MRC, although stretched beyond capacity, still provides asylum-seekers with access to bathrooms, water, and reduced food portions.
Fernandez, sounding the alarm over the current state and future of the center's finances, warned of a growing crisis come 2024 without sufficient FEMA funds. With the current stash of federal aid set to run out, Catholic Charities anticipates that come the new year, they would halt buying migrants plane tickets but will still supply food and clothing at the center. "Starting Jan. 7, let's get ready, because without a way for these people to get out of San Antonio, we're going to have thousands of people on the streets," Fernandez stated in a grim forecast for the immediate future, according to the San Antonio Report. The city is still in limbo over FEMA funding for next year with no federal budget in place, compounding the uncertainty and fears of those like Fernandez who grapple with the humanitarian aspect of the migration crisis.
