Funviralpark Three buses of recent immigrant families arrived from Texas in record-breaking cold on Christmas Eve near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Texas officials have not confirmed their involvement, but the bus drop-off is consistent with previous actions by border governors to draw attention to the Biden administration’s involvement. immigration policy. But a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that the immigrants “joyfully chose” to go to Washington, D.C., citing a voluntary consent waiver when boarding the bus they agreed on their destination. signed to.
The bus, which arrived outside the vice president’s official residence late Saturday, was carrying about 110 to 130 people, said SAMU, a relief agency that works with the city of Washington to serve thousands of displaced immigrants. First Response Managing Director Tatiana Labordo said. in the last few months.
Local organizers had expected the bus to arrive on Sunday, but learned the group would arrive early in Washington on Saturday.
Some wore t-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington, according to The Washington Post.
Employees prepared blankets for those who arrived on Christmas Eve and quickly moved to waiting buses for rides to local churches, Laborde said. A local restaurant chain donated dinner and breakfast.
Most of the arrivals were heading for other destinations and were expected to stay in Washington for only a short time.
Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement that the federal government had processed and released immigrants, criticizing the Biden administration’s border policies.
“Instead of their hypocritical complaints that Texas is providing much-needed relief to runaway and overwhelmed border communities, President Biden and Border Tsar Harris are stepping up to secure the border. Work needs to be done. They keep failing,” Eze said in a statement.
Abbott’s office said last week that Texas has provided buses to Washington, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia to more than 15,000 people since April.
The White House condemned Abbott’s move, noting that the dropout occurred because much of the country was going through a crisis. deadly winter storm.
“Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordination with federal and local authorities,” White House Press Secretary Abdullah Hassan said in a statement. It was dangerous and shameful,” he said.
Hassan said the Biden administration was willing to work with Republicans and Democrats on President Biden’s proposed comprehensive immigration reform and border security, but said, “These political games achieve nothing and cost lives. It just puts you in danger,” he added.
Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, both Republicans, have criticized Biden for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, where thousands of people try to cross the border every day seeking asylum. Officials on both sides of the border are calling for urgent help to set up shelters and services for migrants sleeping on the streets.
Republicans argue that Biden and Harris, the government’s nominees for root causes of immigration, eased restrictions, causing more people to leave their countries of origin. Biden ended some policies, but left others enacted by former President Donald Trump. The Donald Trump administration has also tackled a surge in border crossings and at one point separated immigrant families and children as a deterrent.
The Biden administration is also grappling with how to respond to the surge in migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, overwhelming local resources and shelters.In El Paso, Texas, where the mayor declared a state of emergency, hundreds of immigrants coercion Sleep on the city streets in freezing temperatures.of 2022, federal border officials have stopped immigration more than 2.3 million times. This is the best ever.
