The controversy surrounding the latest immigration policies of Texas Governor Greg Abbott continued with a harsh assessment from the commissioner of the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Agency. Chris Magnus criticized Abbott’s policy of busing migrants to Washington D.C. because of “a lack of coordination” with federal agencies and local governments.
Abbott “is taking actions to move migrants without adequately coordinating with the federal government and local border communities,” Magnus said.
“CBP has always worked closely with and supported border communities in Texas, many of which CBP personnel call home. We all have a shared interest in maintaining safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes, and assistance from the state should be carefully coordinated with us,” he added.
Abbott instituted the policy to respond to the Biden administration’s plan to end Title 42 restrictions in late May. The policy gave CBP the sweeping power to rapidly expel migrants without a hearing. Title 42 was introduced by former President Donald Trump to ease the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of the policy is expected to lead to an influx of unlawful migrants crossing the border.
Desperate to deal with the predicted wave of unlawful migrants in his state, Abbott proposed a series of moves on April 6.
“Texas will immediately begin taking extraordinary action to safeguard our border,” Abbott declared.
Among the policies he announced was the busing of migrants to Washington, D.C., after they cleared Homeland Security processing.
Abbott sent a letter to Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief W. Nimm Kidd directing his agency to take charge of the busing of migrants. He wrote that the federal government “has no real plan for addressing this unprecedented surge of illegal aliens but may resort to releasing groups of them in Texas communities whose resources are already overwhelmed.”
“Texans cannot continue to shoulder the burdens imposed by open-border advocates in other parts of the country,” he wrote, adding that TDEM should help local officials “cope with this latest escalation of the Biden border disaster.”
A DHS spokesman told the Epoch Times that all migrants who are not expelled under Title 42 enter into immigration proceedings. Some are designated for deportation, but others who claim asylum are given a notice to appear in court at a future date and can go anywhere in the United States.
“Through its Southwest Border Coordination Center, DHS is executing carefully designed plans to manage the processing and transport of noncitizens arriving at the border,” the spokesman said.
The policy from the governor immediately created controversy but has supporters on both sides of the aisle.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) has criticized the Biden administration’s plan to end Title 42 and called the busing of migrants a publicity stunt that is necessary to raise awareness.
“He’s trying to get publicity. But, you know, that’s the whole key. I think people need to understand that, that we at the border, we’re the ones that see the whole thing. We’re the ones who see the migrants,” Cuellar said.
U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) responded to the policy by noting that only migrants who volunteer for the trip are taken to Washington D.C. He added that Texas might offer migrants trips to other locations in the future.
“[It] wouldn’t surprise me if we take people to Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, but we’re trying to move people to where they want to go as an option,” Sessions said. “I support what the governor is doing.”
The first bus carrying around thirty migrants, mostly men, arrived in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, just a few blocks from the nation’s Capitol. The second bus, with about fourteen migrants on board, came less than 24 hours later.
Catholic Charities offered the migrants food and bus tickets to continue their journey. After arriving in Washington and receiving mobile phones from officers, most migrants continued on their travels.
On Thursday, a group of immigrant rights groups was at the nation’s Capitol for a press conference to welcome the migrants, whom they called their “new neighbors.”
“We are eager to serve the asylum seekers that arrive from Texas and beyond,” said Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA, a mid-Atlantic-based immigrant rights organization. “In our region, we are blessed with a forward-thinking government and a tight net of advocates, allies, and immigrant activists that lead with respect and dignity. Restoring asylum and expanding opportunities for immigrants to receive protection is what our country must do.”
