Governor Greg Abbott today announced the arrival of two buses of migrants from Texas outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. early this morning. The buses dropped off over 100 migrants from the countries of Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues ignoring and denying the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for almost two years,” said Governor Abbott. “Our supposed Border Czar, Vice President Kamala Harris, has yet to even visit the border to see firsthand the impact of the open border policies she has helped implement, even going so far as to claim the border is ‘secure.’ Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C. until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border.”
This arrival of migrants comes days after Vice President Harris’ trip to Houston, where she claimed the southern border was secure and denied the existence of a border crisis. This busing strategy is part of the state’s ongoing response to President Biden’s reckless border policies that are overwhelming border communities in Texas.
In April, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C. In August, the Governor added sanctuary cities New York City and Chicago as additional drop-off locations. Since beginning this busing strategy in the spring, over 10,000 migrants have been transported to these sanctuary cities while providing much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities.
Governor Abbott has taken significant action to secure the border in the wake of the federal government’s inaction. Those actions include:
- Securing $4 billion in funding for Texas’ border security efforts
- Launching Operation Lone Star and deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers
- Taking aggressive action to secure the border, including busing thousands of migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago
- Arresting and jailing criminals trespassing or committing other state crimes along the southern border
- Issuing an executive order authorizing the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to return illegal immigrants to the border at ports of entry
- Allocating resources that include acquiring 1,700 unused steel panels to build the border wall in Texas
- Signing a law to make it easier to prosecute smugglers bringing people into Texas
- Signing 15 laws cracking down on human trafficking in Texas
- Signing a law enhancing penalties for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl
- Issuing a disaster declaration for the border crisis
- Issuing an executive order preventing non-governmental entities from transporting illegal immigrants
- Signing memoranda of understanding between the State of Texas and the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to enhance border security measures that will prevent illegal immigration from Mexico to Texas
- Activating the Joint Border Security Operations Center (JBSOC) and directing the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Military Department, and Texas Division of Emergency Management to coordinate Texas’ response to secure the border
- Creating DPS strike teams and establishing new vehicle inspection checkpoints targeting semi-trucks and other commercial motor vehicles
