Philadelphia receives its 20th bus of asylum seekers since last November
PHILADELPHIA - A migrant bus carrying more than two dozen asylum seekers from the Texas boarder arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday, making it the 20th the city has received since November.
A spokesperson for the City of Philadelphia said the bus with 31 aboard - all from Venezuela - arrived at 30th Street Station in University City. To date, Philadelphia has received 900 asylum seekers and added capacity to welcome more migrants.
Two dozen of the migrants, including eight children, were taken to the City of Philadelphia's welcoming facility on E. Luzerne Street. The Office of Emergency Management and the city's non-profit partners provided services to the migrants, including, health screenings, shelter, food and water, and legal and social services.
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"Philadelphia welcomed and successfully assisted hundreds of asylum seekers since the start of this operation last year, and we plan to continue to do so as needed following the end of use of Title 42," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
The city claims Title 42 has been "used as a tool to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants to their home countries and deter immigration."
"As Philadelphians and as citizens of this country, it is our obligation to ensure that all people have the opportunity to seek a safer and more hopeful life in America," Mayor Kenney said. "I am proud to have our city be a part of their stories and a place of refuge for families and children."
Cathryn Miller-Wilson is with HIAS Pennsylvania, which provides legal and social services to at-risk asylum seekers. She says people can help by donating food, clothes and money.
"They don't have anything. They've walked across three countries. They've been camping. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs. They often don't have appropriate shoes," Miller-Wilson explained.
Miller-Wilson says she isn't worried about the number of migrants. Rather, the real problem is they are not authorized to work in this country ad the paperwork takes months and months. "People come in and they're told you are allowed to work. Yes, you are allowed to be here. How are you supposed to support yourself? Good Luck. There's a church down the street. Good luck. There's a shelter across the street."
Philadelphia says it has no information about additional buses destined for Philadelphia from Texas.