By CEDAR ATTANASIO
Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Federal officials are reimbursing organizations that fed, sheltered and transported migrants this year during a spike in crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Members of the House announced Friday the first of $30 million in awards to charities and municipal governments.

Charities and local governments scrambled to help migrants released into the streets by Border Patrol agents, often in isolated rural towns . Migrants booked their own tickets to reunite with friends and family in the U.S., but sometimes need a ride to the airport or a place to stay for a few days.

The Trump administration has vowed to stop releasing these families into the U.S., in part by sending them to Mexico regardless of the merits of their asylum claims. Thousands now live in camps and shelters in Mexico.

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