El Paso food bank struggles to accommodate surge in migrants as fate of Title 42 uncertain

An El Paso food bank says it is struggling to accommodate a surge of migrants who have overwhelmed city officials in recent days. 

Susan Goodell, CEO of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, told Fox News the organization is down to about five days’ worth of food for the general community. 

“We are having to bring in specialized supplies for the migrants’ needs. This includes read-to-eat food, and we’re making food ourselves such as sandwiches in our warehouse,” Goodell said. “We are constantly in need of volunteers to help us make those sandwiches because we’re not only supplying them to migrants on the streets but we’re also supplying them to all of the major shelters.” 

Goodell noted that a “relatively small” amount of food – 10 to 15 tractor trailer loads – is going to directly to migrants. 

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“But the vast majority of that is going to people in need right here in our community that are living in poverty,” she said, adding that the challenge has been compounded by food inflation levels not seen since the 1970s.  

Fox News witnessed around 200 migrants sitting with blankets on a street near a Greyhound bus stop. Food bank volunteers said many of the migrants will sleep on the street overnight until they can get into a shelter or are sent elsewhere. 

The temperature forecast for El Paso is 32 degrees, and many of the migrants will use their blankets to make make-shift tents. 

The scene played out as suspense builds over the fate of Title 42, a pandemic-era health policy that has been used to deter migrants more than 2.5 million times. 

The policy was set to expire on Wednesday, but the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked an order that would have lifted it. 

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El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser on Monday said the city has received information from Border Patrol and shelters just across the border in Mexico indicating that up to 20,000 migrants might be waiting to cross into El Paso. 

On Saturday, the mayor announced a state of emergency during a press conference saying he could no longer keep residents safe as border crossings have overwhelmed law enforcement personnel. 

Earlier Tuesday, Texas service members deployed to El Paso to construct a triple-strand concertina barrier near the border to secure the area from illegal crossings. 

The looming fate of Title 42 has put other cities along the U.S.-Mexico border on edge. Texas has been bringing in more shipping containers to create a lengthy makeshift wall at a popular crossing area in Eagle Pass. 

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.