At approximately 9 a.m. today, the U.S. Border Patrol dropped off 114 asylum seekers at a bus stop near the intersection of Valley Drive and Amador Avenue. The drop was in response to a request from the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County that border patrol temporarily cease bringing asylum seekers to Las Cruces because all shelters reached capacity.
The first group of 50 was met by Gospel Rescue Mission personnel and they walked the short distance to the Gospel Rescue Mission. From there they were transported to the former armory the City of Las Cruces is leasing as an asylum seeker processing center and temporary shelter.
The second group of 64 were taken by City of Las Cruces vans directly from the bus stop to the armory.
The reason for shelters reaching capacity is a backlog in travel out of Las Cruces due to heavy air, rail and bus travel this time of year; graduations, start of summer vacations, etc.
The City of Las Cruces recorded video of this morning's drop and is making it available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/k4wqgslmjp2k55z/AAB4U0vblxepWy92tydXAoCoa?dl=0.
The City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County are continuing to make outreach to the State of New Mexico and our federal partners to provide assistance with this effort.