SAN ANTONIO – The last group of migrants has departed from San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center, marking the end of the facility’s operations.
The City of San Antonio on Feb. 3 announced that it would phase out the facility and not accept any new arrivals.
At the time, 88 people were at the facility. On Thursday, the last group left the MRC for their travel destinations.
>> Neighbors express relief over impending closure of Migrant Resource Center
City officials said next week, Catholic Charities and city staff will clean and close the facility.
“Through January 2025, the City has spent $34.9 million of the $47.2 million awarded by FEMA. To date, $22.5 million has been reimbursed to the City by FEMA, and $12.4 million is pending reimbursement,“ the city told KSAT.
Earlier this month, KSAT reported that the MRC saw a significant decline in migrants going through San Antonio since late 2024.
“The number of migrants currently arriving at the MRC no longer justifies the cost of running it,” City Manager Erik Walsh said in a news release on Feb. 3
From January 2024 to January 2025, the number of migrants arriving in San Antonio declined by 72%. Last year, the MRC saw 8,264 migrants in January. This year, they saw 2,316.
Over the last week, the daily average of migrants arriving at the center was 12.
“Until now, the MRC has served a vital role to ensure the safety and security of both residents and migrants passing through San Antonio. At the time, hundreds of migrants were arriving at the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown Greyhound Bus Station daily, with most having no travel arrangements to get to their destinations,” Walsh said. “That is no longer the case.”
The center opened in 2022 and served as a place to help people legally traveling through San Antonio to their host city destination.
The center provided navigation and case management services, local transportation, food, commodities as well as phones/internet access.
Since January 2021, San Antonio has served more than 640,000 migrants transitioning through San Antonio.
District 10 City Councilman Marc Whyte supported the decision in a statement sent after the announcement.
“As an elected official, my top priority is serving the needs of our constituents and maintaining the well-being of our community. For some time I have advocated for the closing of the Migrant Resource Center out of concern for the financial burden we would take on should Federal funds no longer be available,” Whyte said. “As the City now finds itself in a place where future funding for the MRC is in doubt, closing the MRC was the only option, as we should never consider using our residents’ tax dollars to fund such an operation. In short, our city dollars should be strictly focused on delivering high-quality services to our residents, including enhancing the safety and preserving the character of our city.”
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