The center has experienced a significant decline in the number of migrants transiting through San Antonio on their way to other host city destinations.
SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio is phasing out operations at the Migrant Resource Center effective Monday after a decline in people using its services.
The center has experienced a significant decline in the number of migrants transiting through San Antonio on their way to other host city destinations.
“The number of migrants currently arriving at the MRC no longer justifies the cost of running it,” City Manager Erik Walsh said. “Until now, the MRC has served a vital role to ensure the safety and security of both residents and migrants passing through San Antonio. At the time, hundreds of migrants were arriving at the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown Greyhound Bus Station daily, with most having no travel arrangements to get to their destinations. That is no longer the case.”
The number of migrants coming through San Antonio starting to decline in late 2024, with a steeper drop in January of 2025, the city says. From January 2024 to January 2025, the number of migrants arriving in San Antonio declined by 72 percent – from 8,264 to 2,316 migrants, respectively, according to the city of San Antonio.
Over the last seven days, the daily average of migrants arriving to the center has been 12. The city says Catholic Charities will assist the remaining people at the center with travel arrangements.
The center opened in July 2022 in a partnership with Catholic Charities and with funding from the federal government. It’s goal was to ensure the safety and security of both San Antonio residents and the migrants who were passing through the city.
Nonprofit organizations have been assisting with transporting migrants to and from the center, mostly from border cities where San Antonio is the nearest major transportation hub.
The city of San Antonio provided the following information:
- Since January 2021, San Antonio has served more than 640,000 migrants transiting through San Antonio
- Through January 2025, the City has spent $34.9 million of the $47.2 million awarded by the federal government.
- To date, $22.5 million has been reimbursed to the City by FEMA, and $12.4 million is pending reimbursement.