EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Sacred Heart Church, known for aiding asylum seekers since 2022, will close its shelter for migrants starting Oct. 7. Church officials say the number of migrants seeking refuge at the shelter has decreased significantly since June. Father Rafael Garcia, the church's pastor, explained that Sacred Heart has been providing essential services — such as food, shelter, and basic necessities — to hundreds of asylum seekers in need. However, with other shelters now established and fewer migrants arriving, the church will cease shelter operations. “When we first opened, we couldn’t serve everyone. People were out on the streets because we were already packed inside,” Garcia said. He added that prior to June, the shelter housed up to 100 people per night, but that number has since dropped to around 20. Sacred Heart Church, 602 S Oregon St., is located in South El Paso near Downtown. Garcia said since President Joe Biden’s executive orders in June, which limited the number of people eligible to seek asylum, they began noticing a decline in migrants at the shelter. Additionally, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suggest other factors are contributing to the shift in migration patterns. ICE officials in El Paso reported a 90% asylum denial rate, while CBP data show that 11 out of every 13 migrants in the region are now crossing into the U.S. through New Mexico, rather than El Paso. Migrant smugglers have also been directing people toward the New Mexico border, increasing the traffic in that area. Despite the shelter’s closure, Garcia said that Sacred Heart will remain ready to assist if there is another surge of migrants or as cooler weather approaches. “If there’s a situation where families can’t go to another shelter, we’d likely do something similar (to what we’ve done before). Maybe not on the same scale, but we would help on cold nights,” he said. However, he doesn’t anticipate a repeat of the surge seen in 2022. KTSM reached out to U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, for comment on the shift in migration patterns, but we did not receive a response in time for this story.