It appears that the old Hoover manufacturing plant located on El Paso’s west side is being considered by the feral government for use as a migrant processing center.
This idea is not being well received by some of El Paso’s business community.
“We urge the GSA and CBP to develop a long-term solution, which addresses these needs, which may involve new construction and which does not compromise the economic development opportunities in El Paso or the Borderplex region,”
Economic development
It seems that economic development is more important to some than finding a way to try to take care of the basic needs of the migrants.
We have a crisis in that the migrants are being housed under dangerous conditions.
Whether they should be let in the country, or how they got here, or who they are is not the issue right this minute.
If our policy is to let them in the country while their individual stories are being evaluated, then we need to provide them with adequate shelter.
Our congress needs to fix our immigration system. Few of us have hope that they will do that soon.
In the meantime we need to deal with the mess that has been created.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
this is a problem only because massive groups of people choose to break the law. you seem to gloss over the fact that they are creating this problem and somehow now we are responsible for their health and welfare.
what laws can i break and garner yor sympathy?
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The CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. David Jerome, has lodged an objection to putting this family facility in a “white collar community,” where Great Wolf Resort might be built….
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Poetic justice.
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Sorry, the first reply was intended to be a general comment. These “massive groups of people” are families fleeing from two of the most violent countries in the world, seeking to appeal for asylum, which they have the right to do under both US and international law. The US is apparently cutting any aid to these countries, to force them to “stop sending these migrants,” but this foolish policy will likely make things worse and lead to more people fleeing. These folks don’t abandon their homes and make this long and hard journey just to annoy us.
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Two points. First, the situations in these countries have not changed substantially in nearly a decade. Our asylum loopholes have grown bigger thanks to court decisions. They are coming only because they know they came game our system. And second, they were offered visas and jobs in Mexico. Mexico’s manufacturing economy is booming. Instead they prefer to come here and hide in the shadows. I watched a CBP officer on TV last week say that most are not even showing up for their hearings and will likely never be apprehended. This is an invasion that will create a large underclass of folks who can’t support themselves. In short, the slums of Central America are moving here.
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Showing up at the border and requesting asylum is NOT breaking any law. In fact, the law provides for that. Just because you object to people doing it does not make it illegal.
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Showing up at a port of entry and requesting asylum is not breaking the law. Crossing illegally and then requesting asylum is. Our law requires that any asylum claim be given due process. If our facilities weren’t full and Flores decision didn’t limit the time folks dragging kids up could be held, those who cross illegally would be detained. According to several officials in media interviews, 90% of those asylum claims are now being denied in courts and resulting in deportation orders. Unfortunately the illegals making those claims don’t show up in court. And I talked to a CBP officer a few months ago who also reiterated that under a law folks who cross our borders illegally and then make an asylum claim are illegal aliens and it frustrates him that once again spinmasters are trying to pretend they aren’t.
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8 U.S. Code § 1158. Asylum
U.S. Code
Notes
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(a) Authority to apply for asylum
(1) In general
Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.
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The key phrase is irrespective of such alien’s status. The status doesn’t change, meaning they remain an illegal alien. They just have the right to apply for asylum. If we had detention space and court cases hadn’t limited the time some of them could be held, those who are illegal aliens would be waiting for their hearings in a detention center.
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Except no court will ever see them again but you’ll find them in public housing and hospitals.
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So, Brutus, you consider a factory in an industrial park as suitable living conditions? There are several hotel/motel properties presently available in the region.
If you expect better, advocate for better, my friend!
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how much poverty can a nation absorb? i keep hearing about how they benefit our country but if they have no money, nowhere to live and no transportation then what is the magic number before we can have a serious discussion over stopping this?
i have disabled children, but somehow i have to work and support my family. can i just go to the border and make them responsible for my family? how about free medical from thomason? it seems to be free to the illegal immigrants coming in, but all these years i have had to pay for my family’s medical needs.
why must i be responsible for my family but non-citizens are somehow exempt from this requirement?
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A person who walks 2,000 miles with their children, seeking a better life in the U.S. is, like you, trying to provide for their family. It’s wrong to assume that they do not want to bear any responsibility. Most are more than happy to work.
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They aren’t walking any more, they are being bussed up.
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Easy targets
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You are right, Brutus. These people shouldn’t even be mildly inconvenienced by taxpayers spending money to remodel a building to house and feed them. We should give them free vouchers for the Doubletree and Hilton downtown and let them be honorary guests at every Chihuahuas game. They should even get to vote and ride the buses free.
All those people protesting the border patrol can petition to have these “migrants” moved to their neighborhoods.
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The bigger issue is this: Congress could resolve this in a couple of weeks by voting on legislation that closed the asylum loopholes and allowed for immediate deportation of anyone crossing the border illegally. All it takes to shutdown these caravans is a few planeloads of these folks sent back home. Instead folks in Congress are fighting every effort to discourage this invasion. Let’s look at the issue rationally. Someone has been organizing these groups and coaching them on asylum. That isn’t conspiracy theory. Government officials in the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico, plus our CBP have all acknowledged it in media interviews. The cartels are providing the transport either because these folks pay or agree to indentured servitude in exchange for the bus ride up. The cartels are well organized and run like businesses now. So what is really happening? Basically, a million + hard to employ semi-literate folks are being dumped illegally in the US to hide in the shadows and be at the cartels’ beck and call, because their records on who these folks are and where they will be living will likely be better than CBP’s. I’d even bet in hindsight we’ll find that many have the same “sponsor” and those wonderful multiple family sponsors turn out to be cartel operatives. Why are the cartels so hard to eradicate in Mexico? They have the money to buy government officials and they have huge numbers of folks embedded everywhere. They use violence to intimidate reformers and they interfere in Mexico’s elections both by buying politicians and through strategic use of violence to influence voters. And now they are putting a million + person army here. Are some of our politicians already bought? Why won’t Congress act? Is this just the work of the cartels or are state actors in on it too? Both China and Russia are expanding their foodprint in Latin America. The distraction and cost of this invasion work to their advantage in terms of tying up our attention span and resources. It saddens me that the bulk of our politicians seem too dense to see the end game.
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🤬☹ My country is sinking and nobody we elect gives a rat’s ass.
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🤬☹ My country is sinking and nobody we elect gives a rat’s ass.
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Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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💩💩💩
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He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
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💩💩💩
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Why not convert the EPISD central office into housing for the poor and homeless? They are moving anyway.
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AND they’re near the airport so it would be a breeze to jet them back to where they started out.
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Feral government… now THAT’S a ripe one.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2019/04/03/ice-operation-underway-allen-technology-refurbishing-company
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The Chamber of Commerce’s response is disgusting. A community or nation is about more than commerce. To not want immigrants on the west side is segregation, plain and simple. To suggest “new construction” ignores the immediate need and is a blatant, shameless bid to benefit contractors. The Chamber and city council has been compromising our community and economy with all the tax give-aways, uncontrolled development, and dumb deals like Great Wolf. Their response is one more reason not to join the Chamber.
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Economic development is more important than the goddam migrant swarm. It’ s time to reconsider colonialism. If our neighbors are incapable of peaceful self-rule, then it should be imposed on them for our own protection. It would be a better use of our military than protecting Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel…
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Trump has already more than compromised El Paso’s business community to attract commerce. Some of it was self-inflicted because local government did nothing to alleviate the human suffering occurring here, all of which was telecast to the world. That seriously affected our ability to attract business.
Trump finished the job by stating that he is giving Mexico a year to stop immigration into the US from their end. That won’t happen.
In the meantime, any businesses/corporations/call centers looking to locate here in El Paso will not do so anytime during this period while that threat hangs in the air like a Chico’s Tacos fart.
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So, before all this El Paso was attracting business left and right? Perhaps you could provide some information to back up your statement, because in the last twenty years I don’t think the statement could be supported by things called facts.
But, sure, it’s all Trump’s fault. That doesn’t sound completely ridiculous at all.
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Catholic cardinal calls mass migration ‘a new form of slavery,’ says Bible shouldn’t be used to promote it
https://www.foxnews.com/world/catholic-cardinal-calls-mass-migration-a-new-form-of-slavery-says-bible-shouldnt-be-used-to-justify-it
… those who seek to use the Bible to promote migration are pushing a “false” interpretation of the scriptures
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Checkmate: Pope outranks Cardinal: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-border-pope/pope-criticizes-building-walls-to-keep-migrants-out-idUSKCN1RC0UO
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Nonsense. Lean to read for comprehension.
The Cardinal is speaking about a fundamental Catholic teaching warning not to contextualize scripture, meaning taking scripture out of context and using it to promote or justify an action, demand, personal, or political position.
The Pope is simply sharing his personal view points on migration how he personally thinks migration should be handled.
The Pope is clear he is not speaking in an official capacity for the church and more importantly and to the point he is not quoting scripture from the bible to promote his personal viewpoint.
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oops missed a key. Learn not Lean
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Brutus, it’s rather interesting that you’re very generous with OTHER people’s money. Go ahead and lead by example by taking in a half a dozen illegals into your home. l don’t feel compelled to take in strangers who decide to show up at my doorstep on a whim. l love it when people use the term “immigration reform” because it’s so vague that it wreaks of simple-mindedness ,but at least it gives the simple-minded types a cute, warm and fuzzy feeling. Logic: l can think of 330,000,000 reasons why we need to focus on quality instead of quantity. You see, l live on this pile of dirt called the USA, and logic dictates that only accepting the very FEW best, brightest, literate, highly-skilled types will probably make my living on this pile of dirt a more enjoyable experience. And if you don’t meet that criteria, then you need to be stopped from entering. ‘But we’ve been accepting immigrants for zillions of years, and that’s why we have to keep doing it.’ lt’s sad that this actually passes off as “logic.” For those who disagree, why do you not care that having more people creates a strain on the environment by using up more land, water, gas and also creating more pollution?
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If you believe in the afterlife, consider how God might respond when you show up at the Pearly Gates asking to be taken in.
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This is it!? Hell, after being gone for several hours, l was kind of expecting a severe e-tongue lashing from some of you. Well, l don’t recall the 11th commandment being ‘thou shalt haveth thine borders open.’ But l’ll make you a deal, if you stop being a hypocrite and take care of several illegals in your home, ALL of us promise not to report you. And Brutus, even though once in a great while we might have a teensy-weensy disagreement, that doesn’t take away from the fact that you’re still The Man! lf you ever decide to put up a PayPal link, l’ll definitely throw some $ your way.
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Thank you for the kind words.
As far as money goes, I’m not sure that I could afford the taxes.
🙂
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If you are so religious I am sure you practice what you preach. How many illegal immigrants are you personally housing, feeding and caring for?
My guess would be zero, you personally do nothing at all for a situation you virtue signal a great deal of concern over. You simply expect everyone else to do what you think they should do.
And my second guess would be that you are an atheist, since you seem to think that you can call out Christians by quoting the bible.
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West siders don’t want a bunch of migrants in their neighborhood but otherwise wouldn’t give a shit what happens to them
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Brutus, you didn’t have to thank me because l’m just pointing out the obvious. Upon further review (now l’m sounding like an NFL official) l believe my response to this topic was too cantankerous, snotty and a bit crass. l’m sure even my little brain could have done a better job of presenting my point of view in a more civilized fashion. So l do apologize to you and anyone else that might have been offended. BTW- you mean you possess so much wealth that you don’t want to be bothered with the extra taxes? Well, it must be nice, Mr. Brutus Rockefeller. lf you ever have the desire to adopt an obnoxious, portly 48 year old who isn’t even half as witty or clever as he thinks he is, then boy oh boy, today IS your lucky day!!!
( insert hopelessly optimistic emoji )
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Took me all of 5 minutes to find the actual LAW on our books giving anyone the right to seek asylum, port of entry or not.
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