San Antonio is in the spotlight after revelations that a facility at San Antonio International Airport has been quietly operating as a waypoint for migrants. The "Airport Transfer Center" (ATC), which began operations in mid-May, has been used as a temporary holding spot for migrants with plane tickets to wait for their flights, often staying no more than 24 hours, according to KSAT's report.
Despite City Manager Erik Walsh's objection to the facility being labeled as "secret," he acknowledged that an average of 1,200 migrants pass through San Antonio daily. Although the city insists it has been transparent about the center, Walsh cited his "offense" at the suggestion they were hiding anything, saying, "It is not a shelter. It is not a place where people who don’t have plane tickets are being housed." The city had budgets of $260,000 a month for ATC operations, covered by federal funds, according to a statement obtained by KSAT.
Speculation and criticism from local officials have mounted following the revelation. Councilman Marc Whyte (D10), whose district borders the airport, recently became aware of the ATC and has called for greater transparency. During an interview, Whyte expressed concern: "The public deserves to know if we’re holding migrants at our facility other than just the San Pedro facility. And I think it’s clear that the public didn’t know," as per KSAT.
While the city council was supposedly informed of the use of the ATC, some members have said they do not recall being notified for certain. Half of the city council members who responded to a text from KSAT said they were told about the facility's use, while others either remembered it as a plan or possibility or didn't recall a conversation confirming its use.
As the discussion continues, the city's migrant dashboard has shown numbers pushing at the facility's 800-person occupancy limit. Whyte has further suggested that the city should shut down the ATC, emphasizing "the city has bent over backwards" for the immigration issue and stating, "It’s not anti-immigrant to say that we have to prioritize our citizens first," Whyte told KSAT. Outside of city leadership, Mayor Ron Nirenberg was reported to be joining the leadership board of the Mayor’s Migration Council in Switzerland, a position underscoring the city's involvement with migrant issues, though he was unavailable for comment on the ATC issues last week.
