Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott invited the mayors of New York City and Washington, D.C., to visit the southern border Monday.
“As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the dire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action,” Abbott said in a letter to Democratic Mayors Eric Adams of New York City and Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. “I also ask you to join me in requesting President [Joe] Biden secure the border and put an end to this disastrous crisis.”
I am inviting @NYCMayor & @MayorBowser to Texas’ southern border to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis caused by Pres. Biden’s open border policies.
This crisis demands the attention of not only the Biden Administration, but of leaders across the US. https://t.co/riEj6FYsF3
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) August 1, 2022
Abbott and Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey have reportedly transported thousands of migrants from the southern border to the nation’s capital. So far, 5,100 migrants have arrived in D.C.’s Union Station since Abbott announced the plan, according to CNN. Arizona has sent 14 busloads of migrants since the state implemented the policy mid-May, the New York Post reported in June. (RELATED: Migrants Bused To DC Don’t Stay There. Here’s Where They’re Going)
“Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants who have been dropped off by the Biden administration to Washington, D.C.,” Abbott said in an April press conference announcing the plan.
THREAD: This morning I spoke with migrants departing Gov. Abbott’s buses in DC. Here’s what they had to say:
This group, which is traveling with children as young as 8 months old, is from Angola, Africa. They told me they’re headed to Maine. 1/6 https://t.co/L9gigs5zOw pic.twitter.com/IoqIxIESk2
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) May 4, 2022
Arizona has followed suit and is hoping Biden will foot the bill for the effort.
“This is a problem caused by Washington. So we are bringing it to Washington,” a spokesperson for Gov. Ducey told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Bowser has requested assistance from the national guard to manage the crisis.