Published on February 03, 2025
Arrivals at the MRC have declined significantly
SAN ANTONIO (February 3, 2025) – The City of San Antonio is phasing out operations at the Migrant Resource Center (MRC) / Centro de Bienvenida. Effective Monday, February 3, 2025, the Center will not accept new arrivals. The MRC has experienced a sustained and significant decline in the number of migrants transiting through San Antonio en route to their host city destinations.
“The number of migrants currently arriving at the MRC no longer justifies the cost of running it,” City Manager Erik Walsh said. “Until now, the MRC has served a vital role to ensure the safety and security of both residents and migrants passing through San Antonio. At the time, hundreds of migrants were arriving at the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown Greyhound Bus Station daily, with most having no travel arrangements to get to their destinations. That is no longer the case.”
The number of migrants traveling through San Antonio began declining in late 2024 and most significantly in January 2025. From January 2024 to January 2025, the number of migrants arriving in San Antonio declined by 72 percent – from 8,264 to 2,316 migrants, respectively.
Over the last seven days, the daily average of migrants arriving to the MRC has been 12.
For a detailed look at the origin and number of migrants who have arrived at the MRC, see the City’s Migrant Dashboard at SA.gov/migrants.
As of this morning, 88 individuals are at the MRC. Many of them already have travel plans arranged to the locations identified in the paperwork they’ve received from Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol. Catholic Charities will assist the remaining individuals to secure arrangements to their designated locations.
The MRC was opened in July 2022, in partnership with Catholic Charities and with the funding and approval of the federal government, to ensure the safety and security of both residents and migrants passing through San Antonio.
The MRC was set up to receive migrants being directly transported from nonprofit partners in border cities after their release from Immigration & Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol custody. San Antonio is the nearest major transportation hub to these communities.
Since January 2021, San Antonio has served more than 640,000 migrants transiting through San Antonio en route to their host city destinations. Through January 2025, the City has spent $34.9 million of the $47.2 million awarded by the federal government. To date, $22.5 million has been reimbursed to the City by FEMA, and $12.4 million is pending reimbursement.
