Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directs use of buses to drop off migrants at steps of Capitol in DC

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Louis Casiano | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/IPzrDiZh.jpg

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that undocumented migrants released into his state will be shipped to the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., as border checkpoints struggle to manage the flow of people attempting to enter the United States and the Biden administration's move to eliminate the Title 42 expulsion provision.

The state will provide charter buses to drop off migrants – many released into small Texas communities that officials say are overwhelmed – in Washington, the Republican governor said in a news conference.

"We are sending them to the United States Capitol where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border," Abbott said.

He noted that cities along the Texas-Mexico border have bused migrants to San Antonio.

"So I said I got a better idea. As opposed to busing these people to San Antonio, let's continue the ride all the way to Washington D.C.," Abbott said.

The first location where migrants will be dropped off is the U.S. Capitol, officials said.

W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said his agency will "use as many buses as we need" to follow Abbott's directive. In past emergencies, up to 900 buses have been activated for evacuations, he said.

In addition, Abbott signed an order directing the state Department of Public Safety to conduct "enhanced" inspections of vehicles crossing into the U.S. from Mexico to ensure residents are not put in danger by unsafe vehicles or unsafe drivers.

He also announced actions to deter illegal immigration, such as using razor wire in low-water crossings. This week, the Texas National Guard will begin the first phase of "mass migration" rehearsals in preparation for a potential influx of migrants at the border, officials said.

"If you're a caravan organizer and you think you're going to overwhelm or overrun a port of entry, we'll be there waiting for you," said Maj. General Thomas Suelzer, the Texas National Guard adjutant general.

Areas along the Texas-Mexico border used heavily by human smugglers will also see increased lighting at night, officials said. The actions announced Wednesday will be funded by local taxpayers.

"Securing the border does not come cheap," Abbott said. "Securing the border would cost Texas nothing if the federal government was doing its job, but because Joe Biden is not securing the border, the state of Texas is having to step up and spend Texas taxpayer money doing the federal government's job."

The plan comes weeks before Title 42 is slated to expire on May 23. The Trump-era health order has been used to expel migrants at the southern border since the COVID-19 pandemic.

[DemonGeminiX]

I. Love. This.

:cheers:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

:okwith:

[KevinD]

Yall don't get too excited. He's grandstanding because he's up for reelection.

[Pony]

Yall don't get too excited. He's grandstanding because he's up for reelection.

He can send a few busloads of Ukrainians up to us, we can use a few hundred.

[Muddy]

Oh yeah. Great. :meh:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/QQuCnB8l.jpg

A bus from Texas arrived in Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning, transporting dozens of illegal immigrants as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan to counter federal immigration policies during an ongoing border crisis.

Abbott announced last week that he was directing the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to transport migrants released from federal custody in Texas to the nation’s capital and other locations outside his state.

The bus pulled up at approximately 8 a.m. local time, blocks away from the U.S. Capitol building. Fox News has learned that they came from the Del Rio sector in Texas, after coming to the U.S. from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Upon the bus's arrival in Washington, D.C., individuals disembarked one by one except for family units who exited together. They checked in with officials and had wristbands they were wearing cut off before being told they could go.

https://i.imgur.com/1y83tOl.png

https://i.imgur.com/5WrYPq6.png

https://i.imgur.com/hAZr2Sb.png

According to TDEM, Abbott’s plan is already working. The agency told Fox News on Monday that many of the communities that originally reached out for support – from the Rio Grande Valley to Terrell County – say the federal government stopped dropping immigrants in their towns since Abbott's announcement on April 6.

Some had questioned whether Abbott’s plan to bus migrants was genuine. The White House dismissed it as a "publicity stunt." Even Texas state Rep. Matt Schaefer, a Republican, called it a "gimmick."

TDEM said it dispatched buses over the weekend to border communities where it coordinated with officials to identify these immigrants. The agency added that each bus has the capacity and supplies necessary to carry up to 40 migrants released in Texas communities and transport them to Washington, D.C.

Still, the governor's legal authority to transport busloads of migrants to the U.S. Capitol remains in question. The 2012 Supreme Court case, Arizona v. the United States, prevents states from making their own immigration policies.

Abbott insists that the federal government is failing to adequately address the situation. President Biden recently announced that he would be rescinding Title 42, which was used to expel migrants swiftly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive strategy to secure our border—not President Biden's lackluster leadership," Abbott said in a statement. "As the federal government continues to roll back commonsense policies that once kept our communities safe, our local law enforcement has stepped up to protect Texans from dangerous criminals, deadly drugs, and illegal contraband flooding into the Lone Star State."

[PorkChopSandwiches]

:wank:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Now if only Arizona and New Mexico would follow suit.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

And CA :rofl:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Newsome will probably put out a statement telling the illegals to enter through CA so they wont be sent to DC

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Newsome will probably put out a statement telling the illegals to enter through CA so they wont be sent to DC

That would be funnier if it probably wouldn't be the truth :lol:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I know :(

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi , Haley Chi-Sing | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/AY7stEo.png

A third migrant bus arrived in Washington, D.C., around 8 a.m. Friday as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to counter federal immigrant policies amid the current border crisis.

Texas began sending an unspecified number of buses en route to Washington, D.C., on April 8, followingAbbott's statement that Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) officials would be transporting migrants released in Texas communities to the nation's capital. The White House initially described it as a "publicity stunt," with many assuming the governor would not follow through. The Friday bus carried approximately 30 migrants.

"What better place for them to go than the steps of the United States Capitol?" Abbott asked "America's Newsroom" hosts just last week.

The first migrant bus arrived in DC on April 13, with the second bus arriving the next day. Both buses included immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia and Nicaragua.

The group spoke with the press in Spanish, and eventually called together a prayer circle not far from where they were dropped off.

Abbott has been highly critical of the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis, stating that the federal government has failed in properly assessing the border situation.

During remarks at a ceremony for a Texas Department of Safety Memorial, Abbott stated more than 1.6 million people had crossed the border into Texas illegally in the last 15 months.

https://i.imgur.com/V2KKEUa.png

As of February, approximately 220,000 known "gotaways" have evaded Border Patrol since October 2021, a Department of Homeland Security official told Fox News in February.

The legality of Abbott's move to send migrant buses to Washington, D.C., remains in question, however. The 2012 Supreme Court case, Arizona v. the United States, established states could not make their own immigration policies.

Abbott has called on Mexico to step up and help curb illegal immigration numbers. He threatened economic consequences during his Thursday night appearance on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

"The predictable result is that these governors of states that are connected to Texas would be knocking on our door begging for relief," Abbott told host Tucker Carlson. "As they beg for relief, we are demanding that they implement security measures that will reduce illegal immigration coming across the border."

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Brie Stimson | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/Yxt9X3Z.png

The ninth and tenth buses carrying migrants who entered the country through the southern border into Texas arrived in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial policy to bus migrants in Texas who volunteer to go to the nation’s capital came in response to President Biden's decision to end Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to deny entry to migrants, according to the Texas Tribune.

"By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately meet the needs of the people they are allowing to cross our border," Abbott said last week. "Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administration’s failure to secure our border."

Abbott told "Hannity" earlier this week that he was forced to come up with "new ideas to do the federal government's job" as border checkpoints struggle to manage the flow of people attempting to enter the United States and amid the Biden administration's move to eliminate the Title 42 expulsion provision.

"It’s an atrocity that we have a President of the United States that is not securing the border. He is violating laws passed by Congress to secure the border and on top of that, we have a president who is turning a blind eye to security-based issues by allowing people on terrorist watch lists to come into the United States of America," Abbott said.

Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) last week to begin transporting migrants released from federal custody in Texas to Washington, D.C., and other locations outside the Lone Star State. The migrants must volunteer for the bus ride.

https://i.imgur.com/EkC9yNx.png

Many of the migrants had been released into small Texas communities that Abbott said were overwhelmed.

Ordalis Heras, 26, an asylum seeker from Venezuela who took one of the earlier buses to Washington, D.C., told the Tribune she was grateful to Texas for the ride.

https://i.imgur.com/UeNytUm.png

"We are very thankful for all the help that has been given to us. Frankly, we did not have the money to get here otherwise, so we are very thankful for the help," she said after arriving in the capital. "From here on in, I think things will be better. I have hope that things will be better and that my children will have a better quality of life."

Abbott said he is also considering sending migrants to Delaware, Biden’s home state.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

brilliant