Pima County, the most populous in Arizona (USA), reached an agreement with hotels to house migrants crossing the border after the application of Title 42 closed at midnight this Thursdaywhich caused accelerated expulsion of foreigners for health reasons.

Mark Evans, director of communications for Pima County, told EFE that this agreement will make it possible to accommodate migrants in case the existing reception centers are saturatedespecially to prevent them from being left on the street by the Border Patrol.

“It is mainly an emergency method for the safety of the asylum seekers themselves and the community in southern Arizona”, he revealed. He added that it would be inhumane to have hundreds of people on the streets when temperatures exceed 38 degrees Celsius in the summer, without food, water and nowhere to sleep.

The hotel rooms will also serve to house migrants who test positive for covid-19 or another potentially contagious disease.. “It’s a preventative measure,” he said. Two million dollars was allocated for this from the current budget approved by the Pima County Board of Trustees.

As Title 42 draws to a close, shelters, charities and government agencies are bracing for what could become another wave of migrants. Title 42, activated by the administration of now former President Donald Trump, it enabled Border Patrol to remove migrants arrested at the border almost instantly.

Arizona Gov. Democrat Katie Hobbs this week announced a plan to deal with a potential crisis that would include $7 million to transport migrants from border towns to the city of Tucson to take them to shelters and then to other states where your relatives or sponsors are located.