Gov Abbott: We've Sent 45 Buses of Migrants to DC So Far, Willing to Send 450 and More
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Lone Star State has already sent 45 buses of migrants to Washington, D.C., and Abbot said this week he’s ready to send 10 times that number and more if that’s what it takes to get the Biden administration to pay attention to the crisis on the southern border.
At a joint news conference Monday in Eagle Pass, Texas, with the city’s mayor and other officials, Abbott said he will keep the busing program going, after launching it last month, because moving the migrants out is a “relief valve” to border communities.
“And we’re up to our 45th bus now, when you add a zero to that, I think Washington, D.C., is going to soon find out they’re going to be dealing with the same consequences as we’re dealing with,” the Republican said.
“Our goal in sending the buses is to help local communities. The idea arose in a meeting like I had here, but it was in Uvalde,” Abbott explained.
He recounted that the city of 16,000 had “no capability” of dealing with the flood of humanity on its own.
“And they talked about having to put them on buses and send them up to San Antonio. I said, ‘I have a better idea, we’re going to send them to Washington, D.C,'” Abbott said.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, a Democrat, called on President Joe Biden in early May to come to his community so the nation’s chief executive can better understand the crisis.
At Monday’s news conference, Salinas said as mayor his top priority is the safety and security of the citizens of his community.
“Right now, we don’t have that 100 percent because we have thousands of people crossing from over 100 countries into our community,” the mayor said, at about the 29-minute mark in the video above.
“We do not know who these people are. I constantly get calls from constituents that are worried because they have groups of people walking through their neighborhood, and that is something that is not normal,” he continued.
Abbott stressed that what is happening on the border is the result of Biden’s abdication of his responsibility to enforce the country’s laws.
“One thing Americans believe in is the rule of law and to have a president of the United States who refuses to enforce the rule of law is causing the American public to lose faith in that president,” he said, about the 38-minute mark.
He said Biden’s neglect of the issue includes Vice President Kamala Harris, who was supposedly put in charge of border questions more than a year ago.
“President Biden has never once even tried to contact me about the border. The czar for the border, Kamala Harris, has never once tried to contact me,” Abbott said.
The governor further revealed his last contact with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was in February 2021.
“They have no interest in talking to Texas or talking to leaders who are actually on the border. And remember, Joe Biden himself has never even been to the border,” Abbott said.
“We’re dealing with a crisis. It is man-made by President Biden, who doesn’t want to take the time to even come to the border or talk to the governor of a border state.”
The governor predicted that Texas will continue to have significant problems at the border until there is a change in policy in Washington.
“We’re going to have challenges as long as we’re fighting against the government that’s causing these problems with illegal immigration,” he said.
Earlier at the news conference, Abbott celebrated a Louisiana-based federal judge’s ruling keeping Title 42 in place for now.
The public health policy related to the COVID-19 pandemic allows for the instant removal of migrants without officials hearing their asylum claims.
Asked what he will do if the Biden administration refuses to comply with the court ruling, Abbott replied he will take them right back to court.
“The inadequate enforcement of Title 42 by the Biden administration obviously is a concern,” the governor said.
“We will be seeking sanctions and penalties against the United States of America, seeking to hold them in contempt of court, if they refuse to enforce Title 42 the way that it exists.”
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