He set the church bells to ring just in time for the migrants to arrive and played “Santa Maria del Camino”, a hymnbook in honor of the traveling pilgrims. But the bells rang too soon, so Father Snipes, often nicknamed “cowboy priest”, crossed the street back to restart them, followed by his three rescue dogs.
“I was trying to get them to call when the refugees returned,” he said.
In recent weeks, families seeking asylum have been walking to Catholic Charities’ rest center near the bus station, where they receive food, supplies and a night’s sleep before heading to their next destination in the United States.
But as the number of families increased, the nonprofit group asked Father Snipes and his church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the nearby town of Mission, to open an overflowing shelter and help new migrants arriving each night. It has been open for almost two weeks.
It is a feeling that is now echoing once again. “As we are going, I think it will become a crisis,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman from Laredo, Texas, said at a news conference this week.
“It is a difficult journey”
Although some asylum seekers are currently released within the United States, minors unaccompanied by law must be held in government facilities until they can be connected to a sponsor. These facilities were operating at limited capacity due to the pandemic, but the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday – facing overwhelming numbers – notified the facilities that they can open back to pre-Covid-19 levels, which is fair with less than 14,000 beds.
There are approximately 7,700 unaccompanied children currently in the care of HHS.
The government also recently reopened a large facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to temporarily house children, a move that has prompted quick criticism from progressives and activists who believe the government can sue minors more quickly, so they don’t have to stay in large centers similar to those of detention.
“These huge facilities at the border are not suitable for children,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the ACLU. “The Biden government needs to stop using them as soon as possible.”
Carlos, 32, was traveling with his four-year-old daughter and saw teenagers on a bus network traveling from Honduras to Mexico. José, 25, had a five-year-old daughter and said he used to see children begging for money along the way or cleaning windows on the streets to earn money to survive.
He said he feared that not all the children had made the trip safely and that some might have been kidnapped on the way. “It is a difficult journey. A journey with many dangerous risks.”
Biden administration taking heat
The rising numbers became a critical point in the early days of the Biden administration, as he seeks to develop his own policies after four years of a more restrictive approach by former President Donald Trump.
“Border security is a strictly federal responsibility,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement. “Only the federal government has the responsibility to test, examine and quarantine illegal immigrants who cross our border and who may have COVID”.
“We hope that Governor Abbott will reconsider his decision to reject the DHS agreement with local Texas officials that would allow testing of migrant families that Governor Abbott says he wants,” said the spokesman.
Earlier this week, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas contested those who call the border situation a “crisis”.
“This is a challenge that border communities, non-governmental organizations, people who care for individuals in search of humanitarian aid understand that it is imperative,” he said. “Everyone understands what happened before us, what we need to do now and we are doing it.”
The policy is still in effect for single adults and families, with some exceptions. The Biden administration said it would not subject unaccompanied children to the policy, resulting in more minors in custody.
“When you go from scratch because the border was closed, suddenly people are arriving, it seems like a lot. But it is not so new, ”she said.
Jackson also feels that the narrative that more migrants are arriving because of the new policies of the Biden government is a myth. “If someone is trying to kill you, you will leave, no matter what,” she said. “I think it has more to do with what is happening in the countries of origin than with what is happening here.”
“We don’t know what tomorrow will bring”
On Tuesday night, at the overflowing shelter, Father Snipes welcomed dozens of families with closed fists. The volunteers served them donated meals of chicken, corn and pineapple salad.
The parents, most of them from Central America, sat tired in folding chairs while their children played on the playground or took turns on a donkey called Nico on a basketball court. The shelter transformed classrooms into dormitories with soft mats on the floor.
In turn, Snipes welcomes migrants with open arms. He shudders physically at the mention of the Trump era’s policy of separating children and is grateful that it doesn’t happen again.
“We don’t want open borders,” he said. “But we want to help people who are in danger … or just looking for a way to survive.”
Still, he worries about the “chaos” unfolding if the numbers continue to rise and if the communities, along with the government, are unable to keep up.
“We are in mysterious and unknown territory,” he said. “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.