Texas preparing to bus 'thousands' more migrants this week
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is preparing to send “thousands more” migrants to the Big Apple, Chicago and other sanctuary cities “in the coming days,” as the border is besieged ahead of Title 42 ending this week.
Abbott, a Republican, slammed President Joe Biden for failing to act as states bordering Mexico prepare for the end of the federal policy which has allowed for the fast ejection of immigrants from the US since it went into place in 2021.
Even before its end, the border has been swarmed with 81,000 people attempting to cross into the US in the last 10 days.
“With the Biden Administration ending Title 42 this Thursday, President Biden is laying down a welcome mat to people across the entire world, saying that the United States border is wide open and it will lead to an incredible amount of people coming across the border illegally,” Abbott told reporters during a Monday press conference, as Texas National Guard members were deployed to the US-Mexico border.
The end of Title 42 — introduced during the pandemic as a public health measure — Abbott said, would likely “cause a catastrophic disaster in the United States.”
Abbott cited the Biden administration in saying up up to 13,000 migrants would try to cross into the US each day following the end of Title 42. That would add up to more than 4.74 million migrants entering the US in a single year – more than the population of Chicago, he claimed.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, right, talks with Adjutant General of the Texas Military Department Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, left, after a news conference as members of the Texas National Guard prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. AP
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border are transported by bus to be processed at a migrant facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. James Keivom
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border are processed at a migrant facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. James Keivom
“Thousands have been bussed already,” Abbott added, referencing his state bus program that has shipped migrants to New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
“Many thousands more will be bussed in the coming days because of the massive influx of illegal migrants,” he added.
Hot spot cities such as Texas’ Brownsville and El Paso — in recent weeks two of the busiest border crossings in the country —are continuing to make preparations ahead of Thursday, as law enforcement previously told the Post thousands of migrants had gathered along the Mexico border ahead of the deadline.
According to data obtained by The Post, up to 16,000 migrants are waiting to cross into San Diego from Tijuana, while as many as 35,000 are waiting in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez to cross into El Paso.
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border wait for transport after they were processed at a migrant facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. James Keivom
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border wait for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to transport them by bus to a migrant processing facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Friday, May 5, 2023 in Brownsville, Texas. James Keivom
Texas cities of Brownsville, El Paso and Laredo have already declared states of emergency.
Texas’ Tactical Border Force, a team of specially trained National Guard members, boarded Black Hawk Helicopters and C-130 Hercules aircrafts en route to the US-Mexico border. The team will also utilize drones, watercrafts and riot gear as needed.
“They will be deployed to hot spots along the border to intercept, to repeal and to turn back migrants that are trying to enter the US illegally,” Abbott said.
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border are transported by bus to be processed at a migrant facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Friday, May 5, 2023 in Brownsville, Texas. James Keivom
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border are transported by bus to be processed at a migrant facility in downtown Brownsville, Texas, on Friday, May 5, 2023 in Brownsville, Texas. James Keivom
Meanwhile, 1,200 troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety will be deployed along the border to “hold the line,” said Director Steve McGraw.
“There’s 29 places where you can cross into the US legally, and that’s where they will cross,” McGraw said.
“The job of the Texas military forces and the Texas Department of Public Safety, assisted by our Texas game wardens and other state resources, [will be] to hold that line and make sure that’s the only place where they cross.”
State border czar Mike Brown said Texas had “done more than any other state to deal with this humanitarian catastrophe.”
He added: “Governor Abbott is doing the job that President Biden and the federal administration refuses to do.”
Source: New York Post
