A contractor hired by Texas to transport busloads of migrants has signed an agreement barring them from talking to New York officials, the Associated Press reported.
Manuel Castro, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, told the AP that it is complicating efforts to meet and provide resources for immigrants being sent from Texas.
“It’s a problem because we don’t know when the buses are coming, how many buses are coming, if anyone on those buses has medical conditions that they’re going to need help with, if they need a wheelchair,” Castro told the store. “We want to at least know that so we can better help people as they arrive.”
Teams of volunteers rely on tips for help as they wait hours at the Port Authority of New York for buses from Texas to arrive.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is sending busloads of immigrants to Democratic cities like Washington and New York over President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Following in Abbott’s footsteps, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took responsibility for flying 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard this week.
The AP reported that so far about 8,000 migrants have been bussed from Texas to Washington, DC, and another 2,200 have been bussed to New York.
While some migrants told the AP they were grateful for help reaching East Coast cities, The New York Times reported that the influx meant volunteer and nonprofit groups helping those migrants have been overwhelmed and many are ending up in homeless shelters.
In a statement to the AP, Abbott’s office rejected criticism of the lack of communication.
“Instead of protesting the fulfillment of their sanctuary city promises, these Democratic hypocrites should be calling on President Biden to do his job and secure the border — something the president continues to fail to do,” said Thursday. representative René Eze.
