Tucson to house asylum seekers, migrants at city hotels

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TUCSON, Arizona (AP) – The city of Tucson has signed a contract with local hotels to temporarily house asylum seekers in the U.S. while awaiting the completion of a tent-like facility built by Customs and Border Protection.

A statement by Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, a Democrat, said Monday that the city had paid for local hotels to temporarily accommodate about 75 migrants traveling as families, The Arizona Daily Star reported.

“The city of Tucson will continue to be a strong partner – as we have done in previous uprisings under previous presidential administrations – in providing humane, dignified care to asylum seekers during their brief stay in Tucson,” said Romero.

City officials said there is no estimate of the taxpayer cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers, but the city is asking the federal government to reimburse the cost.

Federal officials deal with tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving at the US-Mexico border each month, and officials are looking for ways to accommodate the families and unaccompanied children. In Tucson, officials are building a tent-like facility that is slated to open in late April or early May.

The facility is rated for 500 people, but COVID-19 restrictions and other concerns will likely limit capacity to around 150 to 200 people, officials said. A similar facility, built in Yuma in 2019, was air-conditioned and stocked with food and clothing.

“The city of Tucson has no role in coordinating, planning, implementing or any other aspect of this facility, which is managed by Border Patrol and has all the details of the facility,” said Romero, who called for transparency. “It is important that this facility be open to both elected officials and media representatives, so I am encouraged to hear that Border Patrol is planning to hold an ‘open house’ at the facility before it goes live.”

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