Gov. Abbott Warns Biden of 'More Buses' of Migrants Amid Mulled 'Remain-In-Texas Policy'
© AFP 2023 / PATRICK T. FALLON
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In response to the Biden administration's weak border policies, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been bussing illegal immigrants to so-called Democratic sanctuary cities since 2022. Recent reports of a so-called remain-in-Texas policy being mulled by Joe Biden triggered a fresh outburst of frustration from the Lone Star State governor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has promised the Biden administration 'swift justice' if it sets into action a plan to force migrant families to remain in Texas.
“This scam was tried years ago & was shot down by a judge," Abbott said on X social media platform, adding that his state would send “even more buses of migrants to Washington D.C."
Screengrab of X post by Texas Governor Greg Abbott with link to report in LA Times.
© Photo : GregAbbott_TX/X
Amid the raging crisis on the US-Mexico border, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, along with authorities in Arizona and Florida, has been sending busloads filled with illegal immigrants to the US capital and major Democratic Party strongholds - self-pronounced "sanctuary" cities.
US Border Patrol agents keep watch over migrants as they wait for a bus to take them to a processing center in Fronton, Texas on May 12, 2023.
© AFP 2023 / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS
However, his new not-so-thinly veiled threat from Abbott came after a US media report indicated that the Biden administration was considering implementing a remain-in-Texas policy. If finalized, it would effectively restrict the ability of migrant families who crossed illegally into the US to travel within the country. According to unnamed officials, the migrants would be forced to remain in Texas or in other border states while waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. They would be tracked through GPS monitoring devices. The policy was touted in the report as a swift means of deporting families who fail their asylum screenings.
In his discontented post, Abbott referred to a policy implemented in 1988 by the administration of Ronald Reagan. This policy compelled thousands of migrants to remain in south Texas as they awaited the processing of their asylum claims. However, a federal judge temporarily blocked immigration officials from enforcing the policy in January 1989, and it was ultimately scrapped after President George H.W. Bush took office.
24 July 2023, 19:14 GMT
According to Greg Abbott, the Texas state government has been actively transporting more than 35,000 migrants to Democratic sanctuary cities since August 2022, with over 13,300 individuals finding their way into New York. Abbott has repeatedly underscored that border towns in his state were overwhelmed by thousands of people illegally crossing in from Mexico because of Biden’s immigration policies. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who, like other blue cities, has been deploring the migrant bussing strategy, warned that the border crisis threatened to destroy New York City.
"Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this. I don't see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City... We're getting 10,000 migrants a month,'' Adams said on September 6.
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed his frustration, echoing Eric Adams' call to President Joe Biden for a federal crackdown on the border in order to better manage the escalating migration. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency, calling in the National Guard.
The White House has dismissed the bussing of illegals by GOP governors as an illegal stunt.
The White House has dismissed the bussing of illegals by GOP governors as an illegal stunt.
The US-Mexico border has seen record numbers of illegal entries since President Joe Biden took office. Republicans have blamed the border chaos on Joe Biden’s determination to “undo everything former President Donald Trump had done”. The current administration's open border policies and elimination of several strict measures imposed by the former president to combat illegal migration have been vehemently denounced.
One of Biden's recent policies has been discarding the public health emergency order known as Title 42. The health order, implemented under then-President Donald Trump in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, had allowed for prompt deportations of illegal migrants to Mexico or their countries of origin. It was scrapped in May and was seen by critics as heralding a possibly massive surge of migrants.
US-Mexico border apprehensions have surged by over 30 percent for two months in a row, preliminary data cited by a US report suggested. US Border Patrol reportedly arrested a one-month record of at least 91,000 migrants crossing as part of a family group in August. Figures apparently indicate that, since Joe Biden assumed office, it is the first time when families have become the largest demographic group to unlawfully cross the southern border.
Screenshot of chart showing record numbers of families having crossed the southern border illegally in August, 2023, according to preliminary US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
© Photo : U.S. Customs and Border Protection
21 August 2023, 09:33 GMT
