
Interim Assistant County Manager Chris Brice said more than 30 migrants have already left for their next point of contact in the United States, and most were scheduled to leave within the next 48 hours.
He added that more migrants continue to arrive, however, so the facility remains at capacity.
Brice said they have had no problems with the migrant families – which include many young children – who have beenmedically cleared and arrived with money to pay for transportation.
He said volunteers from local churches and non-government organizations have been helping arrange transportation, and have donated food, clothing, and toys for the families.
Brice acknowledged that the county was notified by Border Patrol officials a month ago that it might be necessary to temporarily house migrants in Luna County due to overcrowding at facilities in Las Cruces and El Paso.
He added that Border Patrol policy involves processing asylum-seekers, then dropping them off at a transit location – which in Deming means the bus stops at McDonald’s or Mimbres Shell.
He said the temporary shelter at the fairgrounds is designed to house the migrants until transportation to other parts of the country can be arranged.
Anyone wishing to volunteer at the temporary shelter is encouraged to go to the fairgrounds and check in at the office in the first building.