Sanford Nowlin
People at San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center line up for provisions from nonprofit group Catholic Charities.
Every member of City Council, excluding District 10’s Marc Whyte, voted Thursday to apply for $21.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to keep San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center in operation.
Activity at the center has dropped in recent months for reasons including Texas’ harsh border policies and the Mexican government’s crackdown on migrants passing through the country. Indeed, only 1,705 migrants have arrived at the center this month, one of the lowest arrival rates since it opened in summer 2022, according to city data.
Citing the lower numbers, Whyte — council’s most conservative member — called on his colleagues to close the Migrant Resource Center. He argued that if the facility didn’t exist, migrants would have no reason to travel through San Antonio.
“I am all for us being a compassionate city and a compassionate city council,” Whyte said. “I think that’s great. Compassion is a value that our city should live by and this council should strive for. But my problem is when our quest to be compassionate leans over making decisions that I do not believe are in the best interest of the residents of San Antonio.”
District 9 Councilman John Courage fired back, saying that while the number of migrant arrivals is low this month, history shows it can quickly skyrocket.
“Imagine if the MRC is closed down tomorrow, and we continue to see thousands of people coming across the border and being directed to San Antonio, to go from here to other places,” Courage said. “I’m concerned about the public disorder.”
Meanwhile, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said it’s unlikely the center is the sole reason migrants come to San Antonio. Citing high number of arrivals before the center opened, he explained that the chaos resulting from influx prompted the city to establish the facility in the first place.
Thursday’s vote allows San Antonio to apply for $18.8 million in grants the city and its nonprofit partners could spend on operating the center before September 2026. The vote also would reimburse the city for $3 million it’s already spent running the facility.
“This is really simple: if we don’t vote yes on this today, then that federal money isn’t used to compensate us for the cost we’ve already paid,” District 8 Councilman and mayoral candidate Manny Pelaez said.
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