Texas mayor warns 'America Reports' local communities, federal agencies 'overwhelmed' by border crisis

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Texas mayor Chris Boswell: Border crisis ‘overwhelming’ local communities

Harlingen, Texas Mayor Chris Boswell provides insight into the border surge on ‘America Reports’

Harlingen, Texas Mayor Chris Boswell told "America Reports" Wednesday that the surge of migrants at the U.S-Mexico border is "overwhelming" local communities.

CHRIS BOSWELL: What we've been told is that ... the systems that are currently in place are going to be overwhelmed. The shelters that operate here day in and day out, year in, year out are full, and we also are seeing and being told by the Border Patrol that they're going to be releasing as many as 400 families into our communities, perhaps each day ... so we have been making preparations to help the local charities, the shelters that are assisting with this crisis, to provide a shelter or additional space in our community center.

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In 2014, I think everyone considered this ... a humanitarian crisis ... everybody used that phrase, but whether you call it a crisis, you call it a challenge, it's certainly something that is impacting local communities who have to fill the gap ... because the federal agencies are overwhelmed.

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We certainly expected or hoped ... that there would be some there would be help given to the local governments who are having to address these issues on the ground because of the overwhelming the system ... This is not just a situation here on the border. It's not a problem just for the border. We just have to be the doorway to the rest of the country and the migrants that are coming here. This is not their final destination. They are going to points throughout the United States. So everyone is affected by this when we have a search like this. 

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