A bus of migrants arrived in Philadelphia Monday, the second in six days sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Nearly 50 asylum seekers were on the bus that arrived just before 10 a.m. at the 30th Street bus station. The migrants were welcomed by more than 20 immigrant leaders, city officials, and volunteers who handed out supplies, blankets, and coats on a blustery cold day, Fox Philadelphia reported.
The migrants were then transported to a welcome facility in North Philadelphia. There, they can take showers, eat, get legal help, and connect with family members who live in other states.
“We successfully assisted asylum seekers from Texas last week, and we continued to do so today,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted. “These folks are looking for a brighter and more hopeful life in America. We’re proud to welcome them and provide them with the services and support they deserve.”
Shortly after the bus arrived, Gov. Abbott tweeted that “Texas has bused over 13,500 migrants to sanctuary cities” — and ticked off the numbers, including 8,400 to Washington, D.C.; 3,800 to New York City; 1,200 to Chicago; and as of Monday, almost 100 to Philadelphia.
“Texas is doing whatever it takes to provide relief to our overwhelmed border communities,” he added. The Southwest border faces an unprecedented in American history influx of individuals crossing into the United States, with an estimated 2.7 million encounters in the fiscal year 2022. Some border towns have faced influxes nearly the size of their entire populations in a single month, as Del Rio, Texas, experienced in 2021.
Local volunteers believe more buses could be coming soon.
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is a group supporting migrants. The organization’s executive director said the majority of those seeking asylum do not plan on staying in the Philadelphia area but want to move on to join family members in other states.
“These are people that are legally permitted to be here. They have been paroled into the country for the purpose of being able to seek asylum,” HIAS executive director Cathryn Miller-Wilson said.
Most of the arrivals on Monday were men. All had crossed the border from Mexico into Texas, although the majority originally came from Nicaragua, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.
The city of Philadelphia said Texas did not coordinate with the city despite a direct request from Philadelphia to do so.
“If governors who want to grandstand on this issue would just coordinate,” there would be better handling of the situation, Mayor Kenney said, appearing to reference Gov. Abbott. “And federal government is still at fault here, too. Come up with something that we can all agree with to allow people to work.”
The mayor’s office has called the busing operation “cruel and dehumanizing” and said the city welcomes immigrants with open arms.
City officials are unsure if more buses are coming, but they are preparing for more buses from Texas.
Amy Eusebio, executive director of the city Office of Immigrant Affairs, said officials were involved in short-term and long-term planning for more arrivals.
Since the summer, the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Office of Emergency Management have been preparing for the potential arrival of migrants from Southern states.
The city expects to seek financial assistance to support the effort from the state and federal governments, though it was not immediately clear how it would do so.
Meanwhile, volunteers are wondering if the arrival of two buses in quick succession means more will be coming this week.
“We might end up Thanksgiving Day welcoming people at the train station,” said Casa de Venezuela founder Emilio Buitrago. “We don’t know.”
