El Paso is gearing up to receive hundreds of migrant families scheduled to be flown here from South Texas in an effort that organizers say is well within their ability to provide hospitality — even during a pandemic.
The arrival of migrant families is "an opportunity for El Paso to do what El Paso has always done: been one of the most hospitable and generous communities there is," said Ruben Garcia, director of the Annunciation House, the El Paso nonprofit providing temporary shelter for migrants and refugees.
Garcia said the Annunciation House is ramping up its shelter capacity to more than 500 beds and testing migrants for COVID-19 before they leave for their destinations. A local church has offered another 30 beds. Project Amistad, a local nonprofit provider of social services, is providing transportation from the shelter to bus stations and the airport. And the city's Office of Emergency Management has made a network of hotel rooms — originally set up to quarantine homeless persons who test positive for COVID-19 — available should any migrant test positive.