San Antonio is expected to shut down its Airport Transfer Center for migrants next month, shifting operations to the main Migrant Resource Center downtown. The city manager, Erik Walsh, indicated the decision is in response to the steep decline in migrant arrivals, which have dropped by 77% between December and March, as reported by KENS 5.
Walsh, who sent a memo to city leaders on the forthcoming closure, detailed that the facility was initially set up in May 2023 adjacent to the San Antonio International Airport to provide a temporary space for migrants with scheduled flights, before that migrants legally traveling from the border would sometimes sleep overnight in the terminals, "As arrivals along the Texas border have declined between December 2023 to March 2024, staff has seen a 77% decrease in asylum seekers transiting through San Antonio to complete onward travel," he wrote, following the memo obtained by KENS 5. The closure is a pivot away from the controversy sparked last December when City Councilman Marc Whyte called out the city for what he termed a "secret" secondary facility, sparking transparency demands.
The airport's facility has been part of a larger migration assistance effort in San Antonio, involving collaboration with federal agencies for reimbursement of operation expenses, as noted by city officials in KENS 5's report. Recent federal funding includes a $3 million injection through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Shelter and Services Program, with the potential of an additional $18.8 million upon application.
Despite reduced migrant traffic and consequent operational downsizing, City Councilman Marc Whyte maintains reservations, in a KSAT interview he questioned the MRC's ongoing relevance to the city's needs, wondering, "I think it has acted as a magnet for these folks to come to San Antonio. Is that something that we really want?" On the opposite spectrum, Councilwoman Sukh Kaur of District 1 countered in the same KSAT report, asserting that the MRC exists as a response to an ongoing community need, indicating that migrants frequented San Antonio even before the facility's establishment, she backed the ongoing operation stating, "I think this MRC needs to continue as long as you have this community that's coming through San Antonio."
The city council's Governance Committee is expected to convene this today to discuss the position on continued federal funding for humanitarian assistance, marking the next step in shaping the future of San Antonio's approach to addressing migrant transit and assistance within the city.
