
Interim Assistant County Manager Chris Brice confirmed that 44 people were dropped off at the Mimbres Food Mart off E. Cedar Street Monday due to miscommunication with the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station. The gas station and convenience store is a bus stop, and part of Border Patrol policy is to take migrants, once processed, to a transit hub.
Migrants also had been dropped off over the weekend at the Deming McDonald’s, another local bus stop.
Brice said 317 migrants had been located at the temporary shelter set up at the Southwestern New Mexico State Fairgrounds in the Deming Industrial Park as of Tuesday morning, and 78 had been transported out of Deming to their next point of contact.
Brice said although the outflow was not as fast as the inflow, arrangements were being made so migrants did not stay in Deming for an extended period.
Brice confirmed that volunteers were still needed at the shelter – particularly bilingual persons and those with medical experience.
Organizers say the more volunteers, the faster migrants are processed and moved on to their destinations across the country.