The first busload of migrants to travel from Texas to New York City arrived at the ‘sanctuary city’, according to a recent press release from Texas Gov. Abbott’s office. The Republican from Texas started transporting migrants by bus to the nation’s capital earlier this year. Back in April, Abbott ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to arrange buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C. The governor claimed that Texas was being overwhelmed because of open border policies.
The transfer move was prompted by the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42. The title is a public health order that aims at preventing the spread of communicable diseases and thus allows quickly expel migrants under specific conditions. But a federal judge eventually determined that the order to end the policy should be stayed.
So far, the buses have only been taking migrants to Washington, D.C. However, now the migrants are going to both D.C. and New York. Some migrants confirmed this week that they were making New York their destination, as reported by Daily Caller.
“We were going to New York, but the person is not responding to us, so now we want to go to Florida. We try to see if people can help us because there are people who will welcome us in Florida and give us jobs,” one of the migrants stated.
According to a statement from Abbott’s office, New York City housing rights laws signify that the area “is required to provide emergency shelter to anyone without housing.” “Because of President Biden’s continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe,” Abbott declared in a statement. “In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city. I hope he follows through on his promise,” he continued.
D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized the process. Adams called Abbott and Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey, who also transported migrants to Washington, “cowards.”
As of now, 6,000 migrants have been sent to Washington D.C. by Governor Abbott since April. This is part of a larger effort to combat illegal immigration and to call out Biden for his more inclusive policies. Until now, there were no buses going to New York. Adams claimed he was in discussions with the federal government for additional agency support and made it known that the city was welcoming to migrants.
The influx of as many as a few thousand migrants prompted Bowser to recently call for the D.C. National Guard to be dispatched to assist in supporting the migrants. More than three million migrants have been met by authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border during the term of President Joe Biden, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The number of encounters has exceeded 200,000 for months, reaching record highs.