Local officials said Thursday they don’t expect last summer’s surge of Central American immigrants into the Rio Grande Valley to repeat this year.

 

But if it does happen again, they said they’re ready.

 

“The message is: We’re prepared,” Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia said at a news conference Thursday. However, he added, “I don’t expect us to have what we had last year.”

 

To bolster their argument, officials pointed to U.S. Border Patrol apprehension figures. Compared to last summer, the agency’s apprehensions have dropped by more than half, said Kevin Oaks, the agency’s Rio Grande Valley sector chief.

 

This time last year, his agents detained between 1,200 and 1,500 immigrants a day, Oaks said. Now, they find between 400 to 500 people per day suspected of violating immigration laws, he said.

 

The number of unaccompanied children apprehended has dropped 60 percent, and the number of families apprehended has dropped 58 percent, he said.

 

In March, The Monitor reported the number of immigrants through Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown McAllen had ticked up steadily since a December lull. As the weather got warmer, Eli Fernandez, a director at the church, said his staff had been told to expect another increase.

 

But since then, the numbers have steadily dropped, albeit with a few spikes, according to statistics Catholic Charities records and gives to McAllen.

 

Oaks said one of the main reasons for the decrease might be that people know they’ll be detained if they cross into the Valley.

 

FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT

While it was announced April 7 that McAllen could apply to be reimbursed for the money it spent assisting Catholic Charities in its relief effort, the city has not yet formally done so, Mayor Jim Darling said at the news conference.

 

Before McAllen can apply, city staff has to figure out what exactly the federal government will reimburse.

 

The reimbursement funds would come through the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said April 7. But the department’s funds can be handed out in what can seem to be an arbitrary way, Johnston said.

 

From June 14 to May 20, McAllen has spent $327,054, according to city figures. Including the financial support from Hidalgo and Willacy counties, Weslaco, Mission and the Lower Rio Grande Development Council brings the total to $682,903. 

 

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