Rocio Villalobos 
McAllen- Neighboring households to the respite center off of Hackberry Avenue have been filing complaints with the city of wandering immigrants and are raising concern for the location’s proximity to McAllen Memorial High School.
In a city commission meeting on April 22, commissioners gave Catholic Charities until June 15 to move out of the present location and into a new facility in downtown McAllen, but not everyone was happy with the vote.
District 3 Commissioner Omar Quintanilla voted against the new location proposition because he disagrees with the city being the applicant for the permit.
“So, what that entails is the city is going to be responsible for everything involved with that building,” said Quintanilla. “And so in my opinion that should have been led by Catholic Charities.”
While Catholic Charities covers the costs of housing, Quintanilla says that on extremely busy days the city can spend upward of $1,000 for bussing of the immigrants.
To help combat the expenses, Mayor Jim Darling has requested reimbursement from the federal government for the city’s expenses in dealing with the immigration situation.
“The city of McAllen, Hidalgo County, really the Valley, shouldn’t be required to house these people because it’s a federal issue,” said Quintanilla. “And the federal government should be changing their policies to really control the flow of immigration.”
One local merchant says the city needs to find somewhere else for the respite center, as he has seen the effects an influx of immigration has on commerce and traffic.
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