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Maryland-based nonprofit prepares for arrival of migrants

December 17th, 2022 by WCBC Radio

WTOP reports a nonprofit group based in Maryland said it is preparing for the arrival of migrants to the D.C. region following a recent wave of them crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas. "we are getting a sense that what we’re seeing now is going to significantly expand in the coming days,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), a nonprofit immigration group based in Baltimore.

“A major surge” of over 2,400 migrants crossed into the U.S. daily last weekend, acting Chief Patrol Agent Peter Jaquez of the El Paso Sector tweeted on Dec. 12.

The surge is happening just before the expiration of Title 42, a coronavirus pandemic-era public health emergency order, that has been used for the last two years to expel asylum-seekers.

Vignarajah said LIRS is mobilizing volunteers and resources to meet the needs of the migrants who come to the D.C. region, an area that said tends to be a magnet for migrants because of ties to family, job opportunities and supportive and welcoming communities.