Tucson contracts with hotels to house migrants

TUCSON — The city has contracted with local hotels to temporarily house people seeking asylum in the U.S. while awaiting the completion of a tent-like shelter built by Customs and Border Protection.

A statement Monday from Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, a Democrat, said the city has paid hotels to temporarily shelter about 75 migrants traveling as families, The Arizona Daily Star reported.

“The city of Tucson will continue to be a strong partner — as we have been during previous surges under past presidential administrations — to provide humane, dignified care for asylum-seekers during their brief stop in Tucson,” Romero said.

City officials said that there was no estimate of the taxpayer cost for housing asylum-seekers at hotels but that the city was asking the federal government to reimburse the costs.

Federal officials are dealing with tens of thousands of asylum-seekers arriving at the Mexican border each month, and officials are searching for ways to house the families and unaccompanied children. In Tucson, officials are building a tent-like facility that is scheduled to open in late April or early May.

The facility is designed to hold 500 people, but COVID-19 restrictions and other concerns probably will limit capacity to 150 to 200 people, officials said.