The United States has experienced a historic increase in immigration in recent years, especially during the first three years of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
El Paso has weathered wave after wave of migrant caravans since 2018. Large groups of migrants gathered in Juárez before being released by federal agents into El Paso.
Immigration peaked soon after Biden loosened federal policy around asylum and other forms of immigration relief. Ultimately, it was Biden who resorted to a crackdown on immigration in June 2024 that led to a drop off in the number of migrants attempting to enter the country.
Here is a timeline of key migrant surges in El Paso — many fueled by migrant caravans starting in October 2018.
Oct. 30, 2018
Dozens of migrants camp on Paso Del Norte international bridge at El Paso-Juárez border
JUÁREZ, Mexico — Migrants huddled under blankets in the morning chill, camped out on the Paso Del Norte international bridge connecting Downtown El Paso and Juárez.
The migrants — from Guatemala, Cuba, Honduras and two from Russia — have been staying, sleeping and waiting on the sidewalk on the Mexican side of the bridge for days.
Recently released migrants move freely around the grounds of an El Paso motel as they await transportation to be united with relatives.
Nov. 1, 2018
Fort Bliss to be border troop logistics hub; 350 migrants released daily
Fort Bliss will be a logistics hub for troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as El Paso immigration advocates condemned the further militarization of the border.El Paso immigration advocates are providing temporary shelter to hundreds of immigrants being released daily by U.S. immigration authorities.
Last week, U.S. immigration authorities began releasing undocumented migrants to the streets even if shelters could not take them. More than 100 migrants were left at the Greyhound bus station on Oct. 26.
“This is the third (immigration) surge that we’ve seen in the past three years. It’s the highest, the largest surge that we’ve seen,” said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, which runs shelters for migrants in El Paso.
Jose Manuel Perez of Guatemala plays with his son, Sancer Perez, 9, outside the former Rock House Café and Gallery at Leon Street and Overland Avenue. Perez said they left Guatemala 12 days ago and plan to travel to Atlanta to join relatives there.
Dec. 25, 2018
More migrants left by ICE in Downtown El Paso on Christmas; 2,000 expected by week’s end
Juana Juan Diego and her 1-year-old daughter, Dulce, traveled 20 days on foot from Guatemala City to the U.S.-Mexico border in search of a better life.
Juan Diego, who was among the 100 migrants dropped off in Downtown El Paso on Christmas Day by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said she and her daughter had nothing to eat during their journey.
Immigrants, many from Guatemala and other countries, sit outside the former Rock House Cafe and Gallery at Leon Street and Overland Avenue on Tuesday.
Dec. 26, 2018
ICE to release 500 more migrants in El Paso, marking the largest single-day release
U.S. immigration authorities planned to release 500 migrants in El Paso by Wednesday evening, the highest single-day figure in the city.
The release of migrants to shelters is common in El Paso, but advocates fear that the government may be dumping large numbers of immigrants on the streets to relieve overcrowding in the wake of the deaths of two children who were in Border Patrol custody.
Caminos de Vida church in El Paso is taking care of 150 immigrants, mostly from Honduras, who were dropped off at the church Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019.
Feb. 26, 2019
El Paso’s Caminos de Vida church helping 150 immigrants dropped off by ICE
Saira Lara wiped away tears as her toddler son tugged at her leg begging for a cookie.
Inside an El Paso church turned into a temporary immigrant shelter, the Honduran mother sobbed, saying it was painful to hear her child “crying for a little bit of food,” she said. “They go to sleep crying and they wake up crying. For us, it’s suffering.”
On Tuesday evening, Lara and her 2-year-old son were among about 150 migrants that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released at the Caminos de Vida church in the Lower Valley.
March 25, 2019
Migrant influx: Annunciation House seeks larger facility, city to fund United Way position
With an unprecedented number of migrant families released in El Paso, Ruben Garcia, executive director of the Annunciation House, said he is eyeing a couple of “very large buildings” to accommodate them.
He expects the number of migrants released into the El Paso community will swell from 3,500 a week now to 4,000 a week soon. But those numbers can continue to grow past 5,000, which will be too much for the hospitality system that exists now, he added.
Sept. 14, 2022
Venezuelan migration overwhelming area shelters; families sleeping on El Paso streets
She and her husband, three grown children and extended family were among the more than 900 migrants released by U.S. Border Patrol in Downtown El Paso over the past week. Venezuelans released included families and single adults.
Those released are lawfully pursuing immigration status in the U.S., according to Border Patrol El Paso Sector spokeswoman Valeria Morales. She said CBP runs a background check before releasing anyone and those who pose a public safety risk are detained.
Dec. 12, 2022
Asylum seekers cross en masse at El Paso-Juarez border as Title 42 nears end
JUÁREZ, Mexico — Hundreds of migrants huddled overnight on the north bank of the Rio Grande river in hopes of seeking asylum in the U.S. It was one of the largest mass crossings this border has seen in decades.
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso, Texas in order to seek asylum brave freezing temperatures as they awaited to be processed by Customs and Border Protection in December 2022.
Dec. 21, 2022
Vacant schools, convention center to shelter migrants amid El Paso border crisis
Two vacant schools and the El Paso convention center to be converted into temporary shelters for migrants amid the influx of asylum seekers coming over the border, city and school district officials said.
The El Paso Office of Emergency Management announced Tuesday night that it is preparing to temporarily shelter women, children and families at the former Bassett Middle School and the former Morehead Middle School.
Venezuelan migrants are staying in front of Sacred Heart Church, on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, after crossing into the U.S.
April 30, 2023
El Paso declares border migrant ‘state of emergency’ as Title 42 nears end
El Paso will declare a “state of emergency” starting Monday in anticipation of a potential influx of thousands of migrants with the end of Title 42 pandemic law next week, Mayor Oscar Leeser said at a Sunday news conference.
There are already hundreds of migrants sleeping on sidewalks around Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Downtown and overflowing at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in the Magoffin area of the South Side.
Migrants line up to get fed at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in El Paso, Texas on May 3, 2023. Hundreds of migrants are seeking refuge at the homeless center.
May 4, 2023
As migrants crowd El Paso streets, city to open vacant schools as shelters
With sidewalks and alleys around Sacred Heart Church overflowing with migrants, the city of El Paso plans to open temporary shelters at vacant schools early next week, officials said at a Thursday news briefing.
The city also is working with the American Red Cross to open shelters at churches to help relieve overcrowding in the blocks surrounding the 120-year-old church, where an estimated 1,800 migrants are staying, officials said.
May 11, 2023
El Paso prepared for new surge of migrants as Title 42 ends: recap
El Paso is braced for what city leaders have described as the “unknown” as Title 42 pandemic restrictions expired Thursday night along with the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.Title 42 and the health emergency lapsed at 9:59 p.m. in El Paso, or 11:59 p.m. ET.
Large numbers of migrants seeking asylum have been arriving in El Paso after massing along the border, hoping to enter the United States. Title 42 had allowed border agents to quickly expel migrants to Mexico.
Migrants breach a section of concertina wire that had been placed on the north embankment of the Rio Grande by the Texas National Guard on the border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas on Sept. 19, 2023.
Sept. 30, 2023
El Paso City Council purchases Morehead Middle School to convert to new migrant shelter
The new Community Readiness Center — formerly the vacant Morehead Middle School — was activated on Saturday, Sept. 30, and sheltered a little more than 200 people overnight, a city spokeswoman.
The El Paso City Council has approved the purchase of the former Morehead Middle School — a nearly 19-acre property located at 5625 Confetti Drive — from the El Paso Independent School District for $3.8 million, well below its $10.9 million market value as of February.
The city will pay EPISD just over $23,500 monthly for the property.
The city is still seeing thousands of migrants arriving in El Paso weekly.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso, Borderland welcomed repeated waves of migrants since 2018