San Antonio Spends More Than $9 Million To Help Migrants

San Antonio, a major city in south-central Texas in the United States, spent $9.3 million to run the Migrant Resource Center from January through the end of October this year in order to help migrant families.

According to knowledgeable sources and reports, around 2.4 million migrants crossed the border into the United States in fiscal year 2023. Many migrants took temporary shelter in San Antonio until they could travel to other U.S. cities.

Amid the migrant crisis in U.S., the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio helped thousands of migrants from January to October 2023. The investment helped with staffing, transportation, and the cleaning and maintaining of the migrant facility.

The Migrant Resource Center in San Pedro, United States, gives shelter to newly arrived immigrants. Sometimes, the migrants are forced to crowd outside of the facility.

What happened to migrants at the facility?

A Venezuelan migrant told reporters, “They only help us for five days. Once that is over, they send us to the streets.” The migrant walked for days through the Darien Gap, the Isthmus of Panama connecting the American continents within Central America, on his way to the U.S. border. 

However, the migrant man got stuck in San Antonio. He had little money and no job. However, he hoped to move on to Dallas, a modern metropolis in north Texas. 

He said, “I will be in San Antonio for six or seven months while I fix my immigration status.”

Migrants were offered temporary shelter in San Antonio. Many migrants were able to get food and water. However, they needed money to shift to other cities. 

Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio

In 2022, San Antonio opened the Migrant Resource Center. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said that the cost of operation was possible with the help of taxes paid by residents. 

The city also spent $728,000 on plane and bus tickets for immigrants in order to alleviate the sufferings of migrant families. 

Meanwhile, Catholic Charities has partnered with the San Antonio city to run day-to-day operations at the migrant center.