Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is moving Texas immigrants to cities with Democratic mayors as part of a political strategy because he claims there are too many cross-border arrivals in his state. The tactic was first dreamed up by Donald Trump and has since been adopted by prominent Republican and Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, as well as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. Gov. Abbott tweeted that she sent the buses that arrived Thursday, saying, “We’re sending immigrants to her backyard to call on the Biden administration to do its job and secure the border.” About two dozen men and women were seen standing outside the US Naval Observatory in the early hours of the morning, holding clear plastic bags of their belongings that they had brought with them across the border, before walking into a nearby church. After immigrants seeking asylum cross the border, they spend time in a US Customs and Border Protection facility along the border until they are generally released into the US to await their cases. Republicans say President Joe Biden’s policies encourage immigrants to disappear into the US, while Democrats argue the Trump-era policy of forcing immigrants to wait for their asylum cases in Mexico was inhumane. The White House said Thursday that the recent busing of migrants is troubling and said they were misled about where they were going.
