There are not enough seats for those who wish: buses from the border city in Texas are packed with illegal immigrants

Buses leaving a city in Texas at the epicenter of the border crisis are full of illegal immigrants released from the congestion of the system. Writes about it New York Post.

Photo: Shutterstock

Since the crisis hit, four bus companies operating at Grand Central Station in McAllen, Texas, have added six daily routes with 250 seats, but that's still not enough, laments city manager Roy Rodriguez.

“We don’t have enough space in private buses to take everyone out,” he said.

Rodriguez and McAllen Transit Director Mario Delgado note that demand for tickets has risen to “record highs,” with “most, if not all,” of the new passengers being undocumented immigrants caught crossing the border illegally. They have now been released and are awaiting trial.

“Every place is sold out in advance,” Rodriguez noted. “If someone wants to buy a bus ticket to go north, they will have to wait at least two days.”

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According to him, the number of passengers waiting to leave at the Central Station has increased by 50%.

A spokesman for Greyhound Lines, the nation's largest bus company and one of four companies providing transportation to and from McAllen, acknowledged the surge in demand for travel from the southern border since March and said that "part of the increase may be due to the influx of immigrants."

The company said that Greyhound did not receive any federal assistance to expand its operations, but "would welcome government assistance as it continues to work diligently to provide travel expenses for immigrant families."

“While it is not Greyhound's responsibility to specifically transport immigrants, we are committed to treating all passengers with dignity,” the spokesperson said.

Attorneys for the other three carriers—Trailways, Tornado Bus Co. and El Expreso Bus Co. — did not comment on the situation.

McAllen is located in the Rio Grande Valley, one of nine regions in the southern border patrol jurisdiction where, according to federal figures, far more illegal immigrants have been detained since February 1 than anywhere else: 260 immigrants.

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Statistics show that almost half of immigrants are family groups.

Once detected by border patrol agents, they are processed and then sent to a coronavirus testing center located opposite the bus station.

After testing, immigrants are escorted to a nearby center run by Catholic charities. They stay there for an average of 24 hours to plan their onward travel across the United States.

The center is now averaging a record 7000 people a week, Rodriguez said, about half of whom travel by bus and the rest by plane.

While immigrants are supposed to be released from custody with a Manila envelope and instructions on when and where to appear before federal immigration court, the Department of Homeland Security admits they do not always come.

Rodriguez said McAllen has no choice but to cope with the influx of people and praised the help provided by Catholic charities: "Thank God for them, because I don't know what we would have done without their help."

“These people are not going to stay here, so we have to give them a path to where they are going,” he explained.

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