SAN ANTONIO — Many migrants slept outside Thursday night. For the second day in a row, there was no room at San Antonio's Migrant Resource Center on San Pedro Avenue.
Hundreds of people were bused to the center throughout the day.
This comes as border crossings soar to near-record levels. For those living in the Shearer Hills neighborhood, frustration with the city's response is growing.
“We had zero warning,” said one homeowner. “They were all the sudden here.”
Two homeowners fear for their safety, so KENS 5 is not identifying them. Both women say they can’t sleep with loud noise coming from the center all night long. The residents say their neighborhood has been turned into a dressing room and an outdoor bathroom.
“You see them day and night looking for a place to dispose of their waste,” a resident said. “The walls are there, so they go. There’s feces and urine, and the stench is terrible. People are taking off their clothes off and hanging them in trees to dry."
Both residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades, but say they no longer recognize it.
“You don’t want to walk out your front door,” a woman said. “You can’t go into your backyard because people are sitting on a retaining wall and watching you; many, many people. Walking in the neighborhood feels uncomfortable. I fear for my neighbor’s safety because she is closer than we are and she has a kind heart and wants to help people, but now it’s not safe to do that.”
Neighbors say the shelter is not big enough, so the crisis has moved to their doorstep.
“I think [the migrants] are having a hard time,” said Don Hauser. “I’m not really for unapproved immigration, but I’m not against people.”
Among many of the migrants, there’s a feeling of confusion and desperation. Julianna Fernandez spent the day outside in the heat with her two young children. She told KENS 5 the shelter will no longer help her.
“They won’t let me back inside because I have been here 45 days,” Fernandez said.
One of the nearby homeowners said she emptied her pantry to feed families.
“The children are not at fault,” she said. “And I hate to see them suffer.”
Mayor Ron Nirenberg says the city is responding to the influx, but didn’t give many details.
“We are able to treat folks with compassion and take care of public safety,” the mayor said.
However, with people living in parking lots and residents feeling unsafe, one neighbor said the city needs to do more.
“They should do something about it,” a woman said. “Because it’s not fair to us.”
Some are wondering if the city will move the Migrant Center or open a second location.
Mayor Nirenberg would only say “the city remains in contact with the Department of Homeland Security.”
According to San Antonio’s Human Services Department, the center needs non-perishable food, clothing, hygiene items, water, baby supplies, shoes and travel-size hygiene items. Officials are asking people to drop donations off at the San Antonio Food Bank, located at 5200 Enrique Barrera Parkway, and St. Stephen’s CARE Center, located at 2127 S. Zarzamora Street.