The first busload of migrants from an overwhelmed El Paso shelter will arrive in Dallas on Saturday, where they will be received by local faith-based groups and nonprofits.
About 55 migrants, mostly from Central America, will be welcomed by Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, said Kyle Ogden, president and CEO of the Thanks-Giving Foundation, one of the groups involved in the effort. They will stay there during the day and receive food and medical attention but will spend the night elsewhere.
Each of the migrants is part of a family of asylum seekers who surrendered to authorities at the border, according to Pastor Rachel Baughman of Oak Lawn United Methodist.
"All of these folks are vetted," Pastor Baughman said. "And this is a process where we are really just trying to be a good neighbor, and to welcome a stranger in order that they might have the safest ability to journey to the next place."
This is the first time migrants will be transported to Dallas via the privately funded, coordinated efforts by El Paso shelter Annunciation House — a Santa Fe, New Mexico, foundation that is paying for the transportation — and a local coalition of faith-based groups, nonprofits and city and county leaders.
