AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – Last week Governor Greg Abbott threatened to send busloads of undocumented migrants from Texas to US Capitol, today the first group arrived in D.C.
Abbott says the busing strategy is in response to the Biden Administration’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions. The order was put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by Donald Trump. It gave Customs and Border Protection the power to quickly return migrants caught after illegally crossing the border to Mexico and Canada in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus across US borders.
The Biden administration made the decision to rescind the order after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that COVID no longer poses a critical health threat to the American public.
On Wednesday, Governor Abbott said the migrant passengers arrived around 8 a.m. and were dropped off between Union Station and the Capitol. He also said that a second bus is currently en route to Washington, D.C.
“As the federal government continues to turn a blind eye to the border crisis, the State of Texas will remain steadfast in our efforts to fill in the gaps and keep Texans safe,” said Abbott. “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. Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administration’s failure to secure our border.”
According to Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, the state has assembled a pool of up to 900 buses for the operation.
The bus already in D.C. was filled with migrants from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.