Gila Bend mayor says town isn't equipped to handle migrant families being dropped off
Gila Bend Mayor says town isn’t equipped to handle migrant families being dropped off
Migrant families are being dropped off in the Arizona town of Gila Bend, and the mayor says it can't handle the influx of people needing housing and resources.
GILA BEND, Ariz. - Gila Bend is a town that has about 2,000 residents and is not equipped to handle migrant families being dropped off, says mayor Chris Riggs, who declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing crisis at the border.
"We got our first one yesterday, a total of 16 people. Five of the families were from Venezuela, one of the families was from Chile," Riggs says.
They are being dropped off in Gila Bend, but they can’t stay. There’s nowhere to go, Riggs says. The town is about 70 miles from the US-Mexico border.
On March 22, the mayor borrowed vans to make the nearly two-hour drive to Phoenix with the families.
"The group that came here, they had little bitty kids, if they had to stay here 24 hours, the only thing they could do is sleep in the park and I can’t do that to kids," Riggs says.
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Pastor Magdalena Schwartz has helped families in the past through church groups but says she can’t right now.
Why? COVID-19 is putting more strain on the situation.
"I call all the pastors, I talk to everyone that helped us in the past. They said, 'This time, we can’t. We can’t because of the pandemic,'" Schwartz explains.
Arizona mayor says immigrants are being dropped off in his city
FOX 10's Syleste Rodriguez talks to Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs, who says the town does not have the resources or funds to support migrants.
Another barrier, Riggs says, is that it'll impact the town financially to give the migrant families COVID-19 tests.
"People are very concerned because what we’re hearing is the Brazilian form of COVID is running in some of these migrants. We can’t afford to have that here," Riggs says.
Another issue is transportation. "We were not able to get transportation. None of the governmental groups were willing to help. None of the non-governmental groups were willing to help," said a town council member in a Tuesday meeting.
Gila Bend Mayor says there are many reasons why the town cannot house migrant families
Gila Bend is a town that has about 2,000 residents and is not equipped to handle migrant families being dropped off, says mayor Chris Riggs, who declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing crisis at the border.
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