Texas has started busing illegal immigrants arriving in the United States through the southern border to Washington, D.C., where the Biden administration “will be able to more immediately address [their] needs,” as Texas Governor Greg Abbott put it last week.
Two of the first buses with the immigrants arrived to the nation’s capital on Wednesday morning and early on Thursday, as reported by Fox News, which captured footage of the arrivals.
The first bus, transporting 23 people, pulled up at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time, “blocks away from the U.S. Capitol building,” according to Fox News. The immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela accepted a one-way ticket to Washington, D.C., from the Del Rio sector in Texas. The group included 19 men, four women, and three small children.
The aliens, however, said they did not plan to stay in Washington, and wanted to go to Miami, Florida, likely by train, they told the outlet.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was quick to pour some cold water on the migrants’ plans. In a statement to Fox, his executive office said, “To those who have entered the country illegally, fair warning: do not come to Florida. Life will not be easy for you, because we are obligated to uphold the immigration laws of this country, even if our federal government and other states won’t.”
The statement continued, “Florida is not a sanctuary state, and our social programs are designed to serve the citizens of our state. The governor will protect the sovereignty of the state of Florida.”
The second bus brought 14 migrants just before 4:30 a.m. and dropped them off a block from Union Station, also within a close proximity to the U.S. Capitol Complex. The illegals came from the same countries as those arriving the day earlier.
One individual from Colombia, who said his name was Juan, shared with Fox News that he flew by plane to Mexico and crossed the Rio Grande into the United States.
“Juan and his friend said they are going to New York to join their friends. Juan said he wants to be a barber,” according to the report.
Commenting on the arrival of the first two buses from Texas, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki signaled the administration did not worry about the development, saying the immigrants were caught, processed, and released by Homeland Security and were free to travel wherever they wanted.
During the Wednesday press briefing, Psaki said, “These are all migrants who have been processed by CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and are free to travel.” She added, “So, it’s nice the state of Texas is helping them get to their final destination as they await in — their outcome of their immigration proceedings. And they’re all in immigration proceedings.”
Psaki once again called the move a “political stunt.”
As reported by The New American, Governor Abbott directed last Wednesday the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to transport migrants released from federal custody in Texas to the nation’s capital and other locations outside his state. Speaking at a press conference last Wednesday, Abbott announced a set of “unprecedented” actions to curb what is expected to be a major influx of migrants coming to Texas due to the Biden administration’s lifting of the Title 42 expulsion policy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the policy would end on May 23. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates, as many as 18,000 illegal immigrants will be coming to America’s southern border every day as a result of the policy reversal. That’s more than double the number of people the border agents are handling now.
“According to TDEM, Abbott’s plan is already working,” reported Fox News. TDEM told Fox on Monday that many of the communities that have been routinely asking it for support with — from the Rio Grande Valley to Terrell County — adding that the federal government has discontinued the practice of dropping illegal immigrants in their towns since Abbott’s announcement of the new policy.
The report notes that an unnamed number of buses were dispatched over the weekend to border communities, where TDEM coordinated with officials to identify the cleared immigrants who could be taken elsewhere. Last week, TDEM Chief Nim Kidd said that more than 900 buses would be provided.
On Wednesday, Abbott issued a statement saying that more buses of migrants would be heading from his state to D.C.
“As the federal government continues to turn a blind eye to the border crisis, the State of Texas will remain steadfast in our efforts to fill in the gaps and keep Texans safe,” Abbot said, adding, “Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administration’s failure to secure our border.”
Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens said that all illegal immigrants agree to leave Texas voluntarily, and each signs a consent letter before getting on board.
As a part of the preparation for the surge of migrants, Abbott struck an agreement with the governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León to increase security along their shared border on Wednesday.
