The mayor of the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas, Oscar Lizer, declared a state of emergency Saturday night due to an influx of migrants who have recently arrived in the city and, he said, are living in unsafe conditions.

The mayor, who previously refused to declare a state of emergency, said hundreds of migrants are on the streets in unsafe conditions as temperatures begin to drop, and the situation could get much worse when Trump's border policy is repealed Wednesday, which federal officials expect will lead to more migrant arrivals.

The mayor said at a news conference that some officials estimate the number of incoming migrants could more than double after Dec. 21. 

Earlier this week, a senior Border Patrol official said more than 2,400 migrants crossed the U.S. border into the El Paso area every day over the weekend, describing the number as a serious spike in illegal border crossings in the area.

At a time when those numbers are rising and the region's resources are already hard pressed, Wednesday's court order will end Title 42, a policy that has allowed officials to deny migrants encountered at the southern border since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because of this deadline, federal officials expect a further increase in the number of people crossing the border, CNN reports.