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More Asylum Seekers Arrive In Portland, Straining City Resources

Since mid-November, 179 asylum seekers have arrived in Portland from the southern border.  City spokesperson Jessica Grondin says that's a higher number than had been expected, and it has city overflow shelters at near capacity.

"We don't have other options at this point," Grondin says. "I mean, there's nothing else that we have available to us."

 

Grondin says the city won't turn anyone away, but says city officials are communicating with partners at the Texas border to encourage people to seek resources elsewhere if possible, "recognizing that we want to be helpful and we clearly are a welcoming city, but there's only so much we can do at this point."

 

Grondin says the asylum seekers are primarily from the Congo and Angola. The Portland City Council will meet Monday afternoon for an update on the situation.

 

Updated Dec. 13, 2019 at 12:57 p.m. ET.