Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced a number of measures to address migrants arriving at the southern border.
To help local officials whose communities are being overwhelmed by hordes of illegal immigrants who are being dropped off by the Biden administration, Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants to Washington D.C., Abbott said.
The Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border if they are sent to the United States Capitol.
The plan would involve providing buses and flights for migrants who have been processed and released by the Department of Homeland Security, according to a statement from the governor's office. The migrants would need to show their documentation in order to go.
Texas mayors and county judges can request rides from the state government if there is a drop-off of migrants.
—Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) April 6, 2022
The senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council said that if migrants are transported against their will it could be a violation of federal law.
If Governor Abbott wants to offer charter buses for migrants to join their family in the DC metro area while they go through the asylum process, I think many would be happy to take him up on that offer. DC is a vibrant immigrant community and many of our local nonprofit organizations would be more than willing to pitch in and help with such a generous offer, he said in an email to Insider.
If he was suggesting that migrants could be forced onto buses and taken to DC against their will, that sounds very close to a federal felony kidnapping.
Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed immigration authorities to turn away all migrants at the border, even those who were seeking asylum, is a right under international law and Abbott claimed he was responding to the Biden administration announcing plans to end it.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management is responsible for the busing plan. TDEM did not respond to questions about the plan.
More than 900 buses would be used in the operation, according to the chief of TDEM.
Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has announced a number of plans, including a zero-tolerance policy for vehicles suspected of being used for migrants.
The number of migrants arrested at the southern border hit a record high in 2021, boosted by the number of repeat crossers who had been previously expelled under Title 42.
Customs and Border Protection data shows that the number of arrests has dropped slightly this year, but is still high compared to previous years.
The White House did not reply immediately.
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