Texas Agrees to Take 50,000 More Refugees

Texas is a big state with a big heart.

The state of Texas agreed Thursday to take in three times more refugees from Hurricane Katrina than officials initially expected, bringing the total number of evacuees to nearly 75,000.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced that 50,000 more refugees would relocate to Texas, with plans to house 25,000 each in San Antonio and Dallas. Those people would join 23,000 others who are already being sent from New Orleans to the Astrodome in Houston.

Late Thursday, however, after accepting more than 11,000 Hurricane Katrina refugees, officials said the Astrodome was full and began sending buses to other area shelters and as far away as Huntsville, about an hour north of Houston.