Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, was given the blame by the White House, which referred to it as a “cruel, hazardous, and disgraceful prank.”
As the region faced record-low temperatures on Saturday night, three buses dropped off scores of migrants close to Vice President Kamala Harris’ apartment in Washington, DC, according to NBC News.
The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network’s Madhvi Bahl described the situation as “terrible” when 140 migrants from Central, South, and the Caribbean landed in D.C. from Texas.
According to CNN, some of the migrants who arrived had to brave the 18 degree temperature in only t-shirts before being handed blankets and transferred to nearby shelters.
Since April, the D.C. neighbourhood has welcomed buses from Texas whenever they have arrived. Amy Fischer, a volunteer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, told CNN that Christmas Eve and bitterly cold weather are no different. “We always have open arms and are here to welcome people.”
Although it has not been established that Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent the buses that ended up to Harris’ house, the White House blamed him since he had previously deployed migrants in busloads to northern cities. The White House described the bus deployment as a “cruel, dangerous, and disgusting stunt” in a statement.
According to a statement given to news organisations by White House spokeswoman Abdullah Hasan, Governor Abbott “abandoned children by the side of the road in sub freezing weather on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities.”
However, these political games achieve nothing and only endanger lives, as we have repeatedly stated that we are willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office.
The office of Governor Greg Abbott has been contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
According to Politico, after migrants started arriving in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago from Republican-led Arizona and Texas, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., proclaimed a public emergency to provide services for migrants.
According to Bowser, “We’re setting up a framework that would allow us to have a coordinated response with our allies.” “This will involve a programme to meet all buses, and given that the majority of people will move on, our primary objective is to ensure that we have a humane, efficient, welcome process that will let them to move on to their final destination,” the statement reads.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, also denounced the measure in August.
“Some of the families aboard the bus wanted to travel to different places, but they were unable to do so. As reported by Politico, Adams said that they had been forced onto the bus. Our aim is to identify each family’s requirements as soon as possible and provide them with the help they require.
