McAllen shelter run by Sister Norma Pimentel sits empty as migrant crossings drop

Sister Norma Pimentel’s Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, has been largely empty for months after a sharp decline in migrants arriving at the border, the shelter’s director said. “We have not seen a single migrant in months,” Sister Pimentel said last month. “We are completely empty.” Staff described a vacant kitchen, a deserted children’s play area and a bare floor that less than two years ago had been filled with makeshift beds.

At the height of the recent surge, some border shelters took in hundreds or more people a day; government data shows encounters at the Southwest border have dropped to an average of about 245 a day from a peak of roughly 10,000 to 12,000 a day during Mr. Biden’s administration. With few migrants to house, the shelter has pivoted to help local residents in one of the poorest U.S.

cities. Volunteers now sometimes provide three meals a day, a change of clothes and help finding government resources to about 50 to 60 people daily, and the center runs an educational program for low‑income pregnant women. The shelter largely relies on donations, and the federal government has paused funding for the organization pending a review; Catholic Charities said it was cooperating with federal officials.

Sister Pimentel said the center’s mission remains to assist whoever needs it, but the future is uncertain. “You never know when the situation is going to change — nothing is forever,” she said.

Key Topics

Politics, Sister Norma Pimentel, Humanitarian Respite Center, Mcallen, Southwest Border, Catholic Charities