Texas: Migrants reveal terrible conditions at San Antonio airport shelter

Migrants denounce the conditions they live in the shelter at the San Antonio airport that began operating last May. The facility, which the city says is an Airport Transfer Center (ATC), receives migrants who are sent there from the Migrant Resource Center, located in San Pedro.

The building, which resembles another warehouse at the airport, receives migrants seeking asylum and waiting for flights to other cities. While the municipal administrator of San Antonio, Erik Walsh said in a statement that it is not a hangar.migrants denounce the terrible conditions of the place.

“It is better to be in prison than to be in there,” Jorge told Telemundo, who said he was at the scene for several days. “There are no conditions to live there,” said the Latino. Although it has air conditioning, the place is not equipped to protect the almost 300 migrants it receives every day. People must use portable toilets located outside and food is provided by volunteer groups.

Texas says “it is not a hangar”

“There have been recent reports with misinformation regarding the Airport Transfer Center located at the San Antonio International Airport. This air-conditioned facility (not a hangar) is being used by the city of San Antonio for immigrants”said the city administration, which opened the facility after a unilateral decision, for which district councilors were not considered.

According to the statement, the building within the airport: “offers those traveling by plane a safe and comfortable area to wait with access to food, water, basic products and toilets. It is not a hostel, but a place where only people with a plane ticket can stay voluntarily while waiting for their flight.either. The vast majority of people leave within 24 hours. Sometimes they have stayed more than 24 hours, but not more than 48.”

The facility is located within District 10, whose council member, Marc Whyte, told Ken5 who did not participate in any vote on the center. “In the summer, I remember being told it was a 'possibility,'” Whyte said. “But until October I did not have official confirmation that there were people in those airport facilities. It seems that no one in the city knew this was happening, and that It is a transparency problem that we have to solver”.