Casa Alitas, a migrant welcome center within walking distance of the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry, provides food and supplies to migrants as they enter the country.
NOGALES, Ariz. — Emergency crews and organizations in Nogales continue to help immigrants seeking asylum, one year after Title 42 ended.
Title 42 is a public health order that allows U.S. authorities to turn back migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Santa Cruz County Emergency Management Director Sobeira Castro said Title 42 ended on May 11, 2023, but county emergency management wasn't involved until Sept. 13, 2023.
Castro said that between May 11, 2023, and Sept. 12, 2023, Border Patrol agents were escorting migrants in buses and shuttles to locations within city limits.
Castro said he had “never dealt with a migrant emergency” but was able to set up tables at the border and provide supplies to migrants. Pima County ultimately sent personnel to Santa Cruz County through a federal grant agreement to help with much of the effort.
“The Border Patrol is still processing individuals, about 200 to 300 per day,” Castro said. “All we're doing right now is deportations.”
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Castro said asylum seekers were coming from a wider range of nationalities and were increasingly coming from families.
“Initially, a lot of them were from India and Africa. Now, a lot of them are from Russia,” Castro said. “It's an ongoing issue and we believe as a rural county we need federal assistance.”
Castro stressed that shelters are especially needed in the county because most of the migrants will need to be transferred to other counties.
“At the end of the day, this is a federal issue and we need not only assistance but also help to get a full picture of the impacts that are happening within rural communities,” Castro said.
Currently, Casa Alitas, a migrant welcome center located within walking distance of the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry, provides food, resources and guidance to migrants arriving in the country.
A Venezuelan woman at the center said she had traveled with her friends and daughters for an entire month, from Colombia to Panama and across the perilous Darien Gap that straddles the two countries.
Another man from Cuba, who arrived in Nogales with his father-in-law on Tuesday night, said one of the reasons he left the country was because he did not have the freedom to express his views without fear of persecution.
Castro said the migrants would be medically examined at Casa Alitas and then bused to shelters around the state before continuing to their final destinations.
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