The buses that arrived in Washington, DC were carrying about 100 migrants, Fox News reported, most of whom were nationals from Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico. Video circulating online from the scene shows the group of young men, women and children carrying backpacks, pillows and blankets as they chatted outside Harris’ residence without going anywhere initially. However, as word of their arrival spread, local immigrant organizations sprung into action. A representative from a charity called Sanctuary DMV came later in the morning and announced that immigrants could be housed temporarily at a local church.

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The buses were sent without warning, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told DC News Now, leaving the city unprepared. She said she was only made aware of the buses after a reporter called her office and a “city action team” was dispatched to provide assistance. A spokesperson for SAMU First Response, which provides humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers in D.C., told The Daily Beast on the scene that aid teams expected the migrants to be dropped off at Union Station, similar to other recent arrivals. “They were very confused,” said Tatiana Laborde, the organization’s chief executive. “One thing is going down in Union Station, you know, where it’s a bigger, more open space. Another is the sidewalk we have next to [Naval] Observatory, fully guarded. It’s much more difficult.” Laborde said the buses have become more regular recently, with the next known arrival coming via Arizona on Friday. She said the influx is taking a toll on her organization. “The buses keep coming,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re going to get more buses here tomorrow morning.” ‌ Migrants from Central and South America wait near the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.

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DC News Now spoke with an immigrant named Wilder Alberto Pinto Sosa. He said he made the trip to the US with his son through eight countries and they hoped to eventually reach New York. Pinto Sosa said they were bused in from Texas and were happy to be in the US, telling DC News Now they were treated “much better than any other country” they had been through. Thursday’s stunt was just the latest by Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who have sent potential refugees north and flagged conservative media outlets before notifying their arrival cities. On Wednesday night, DeSantis ordered a pair of charter flights — booked with $12 million in taxpayer money — to take about 50 immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a posh Massachusetts island that lacks the facilities to handle an influx of immigrants. . The migrants involved were flown from Texas to Florida, where they spent no time on the ground, before being flown north, NPR reported. The flight’s arrival sent local officials scrambling, with DeSantis confirming he was the instigator. “Yes, Florida can confirm that the two planes of illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha’s Vineyard today were part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations,” a DeSantis spokesman told CBS Boston. The immigrants, meanwhile, wandered off confused. One immigrant told NPR she was told the flight was headed to Boston so she could get expedited work papers. ‌ Migrants from Venezuela landed on Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday afternoon.

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A person named “Perla” was walking around a facility in San Antonio, Texas to recruit people to fly north, the migrant said, until the flight’s departure. The flight then departed Texas for Florida, where it had a brief layover, before stopping again in South Carolina en route to Martha’s Vineyard. The city manager for Edgartown, where the immigrants live, said he wasn’t worried about the politics of the situation — just focused on how his city of 5,200 can help. “I’ve got 50 people that we need to take care of and we need services, and we need to coordinate efforts and make sure it’s done efficiently,” James Haggerty told the Daily Beast on Thursday. “And make sure it’s done to the best of our ability. We owe this to the citizens of the city.” Haggerty said many of the migrants did not know where they were when they left. For now, they are housed in a church, he said, while state officials come up with a long-term plan. The use of immigrants, many of whom have escaped violence, as political pawns angered officials and advocates who called the stunts unethical and fiscally irresponsible. Massachusetts state Rep. Dylan Fernandes, a Democrat who represents the island, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times it was “disgusting” and “inhumane.” “These governors or whoever it is, all they care about is scoring some political points on Tucker Carlson and Fox News,” he said. “These people claim to be Christians? That is about as unchristian as you could do. It’s bad.” Venezuelan immigrants stand outside St. Andrew’s Church on Martha’s Vineyard.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called the move “disgusting and cruel,” while Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said the rulings should bar DeSantis and Abbott from holding public office. “Someone who would round up Venezuelans, who have left one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world, and then use them for a political stunt, has no business ever holding political office,” he said. Venezuelan immigrants stand outside St. Andrew’s Church on Martha’s Vineyard. Others, like Florida Rep. Anna V. Escamani, have called the governors human traffickers—lying to vulnerable immigrants and promising them help, then sending them unannounced across state lines. And this at a significant cost. DeSantis’ stunt reportedly cost $12 million — more than $200,000 per migrant — while Texas has spent $14 million since Sept. 7 to bus migrants, KXAN reported. “Florida is spending $12 million to fly innocent immigrant children out of our state when that money could be spent fighting to help Floridians and keep costs down,” tweeted Charlie Crist. , a Democrat running for governor of Florida. “This is just another political stunt that is hurting our state.” DeSantis’ office, meanwhile, is proudly touting its costly venture, with the governor declaring at a news conference Thursday morning that it was sending immigrants to “greener pastures.” His deputy press secretary, meanwhile, perhaps inadvertently compared his boss’s work to that of drug cartels. “Do people-smuggling cartels call Florida or Texas before illegal immigrants wash up on our shores or cross the border?” tweeted Jeremy Redfern. “No. Welcome to being a state on the southern border, Massachusetts.” —with additional reporting by Eileen Grench