Texas has bused thousands of migrants, the vast majority of them to the nation’s capital, as political punishment against the Biden administration. CNN reports that right-wing Gov. Greg Abbott has sent more than 7,400 to Washington, D.C., while more than 1,500 have been sent to New York City.
Abbott had initially puffed up his chest in front of cameras and claimed that he would forcibly move migrants to D.C., before saying in the state’s official release that the busing would actually be completely voluntary. But New York City officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, have said some individuals have indeed been forced.
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“Adams said some migrants were forced onto the bus, including families who wanted to go to locations other than New York, according to Politico,” The Texas Tribune reported on Aug. 7. CNN reported the next day that Abbott has claimed that migrants signed a form available in multiple languages giving their consent to be transported. While that might be technically true, did they actually understand what they were signing? Did anyone bother to explain it to them?
Reports say that numerous children have been among the people used as human props by Greg Abbott, including infants. Nor has his office coordinated with officials in New York City. This is intentional, of course. He seeks a perceived chaotic scene for his own political gain.
"It's unimaginable, what the governor in Texas has done," Adams said during a press conference earlier this month. “When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who were fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we've always welcomed that. And this governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to set the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families." Abbott has also claimed that migrants are a strain on Texas resources, but his busing scheme had cost Texas taxpayers $1.6 million as of June. His racist Operation Lone Star scheme, meanwhile, is costing Texans billions annually.
But as Abbott has looked at migrant children and adult with repulsion, the communities receiving migrants have urged compassion and dignity. While many asylum-seekers have family already in the U.S., some have had nowhere to go. Borderland organizations like Annunciation House normally would have worked to help shelter these families, but since Abbott has moved them across the country for no reason other than his political gain, some have had to seek help from city shelters. Adams on Aug. 1 announced an emergency procurement declaration to access additional shelter and services.
Photographs also showed migrants being welcomed off buses with handshakes and high-fives by local officials including New York Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro:
New York Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro welcoming migrants
New York Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro and advocates welcoming migrants
New York Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro welcoming migrants
“Regardless of who these people are, where they are from, or for what cynical reason they are being sent here, New York is a sanctuary and right to shelter city, and the city must ensure that beds and critical services are immediately available to meet any demand,” the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless said in an Aug. 5 statement received by Daily Kos.
But the xenophobia is spreading, because anti-immigrant hatred is the playbook for Republicans who don’t want to talk about their extremism on other things, like abortion rights (they don’t want abortion rights for anyone). Florida’s fascistic Gov. Ron DeSantis said he has millions in taxpayer funds on hand to do his own busing. But the state’s lieutenant governor, Jeanette Nuñez, recently caused a firestorm when she said she supported busing Cuban migrants to the president’s home state of Delaware. She quickly “clarified” that she didn’t mean Cuban migrants, she meant those other kinds of migrants.
“What we know is that this is a violent and cruel political stunt and is harming people and the immigrants that trusted this country to welcome them,” United We Dream Executive Director Greisa Martinez Rosa said during a recent MSNBC interview. “At United We Dream Action we are reminding our communities that we can do something about this. We are telling people that we deserve politicians that welcome immigrants, that ensure that we have an economy and community that works for all of us, and we are reminding people that immigrants make our communities better.”
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