Texas Governor Greg Abbott holds a news conference with state agencies and local officials at Uvalde High School, three days after a gunman killed nineteen children and two adults in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 27, 2022. REUTERS / Marco Bello
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NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said on Friday he had begun sending busloads of migrants to New York in an effort to shift responsibility for border crossings to Democratic mayors and U.S. President Joe Biden. a democrat.
The first bus arrived early Friday at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. Volunteers were loading groups of migrants into taxis bound for a nearby reception center, where they said some would be processed for admission to the city’s homeless shelters.
Abbott, who is running for a third term as governor in November’s election, has sent more than 6,000 migrants to Washington since April in a broader effort to combat illegal immigration and called on Biden for his more welcoming policies. Read more
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Abbott said New York City Mayor Eric Adams could provide services and housing for the new arrivals.
“I hope he makes good on his promise to welcome all migrants with open arms so that our overcrowded and overburdened border towns can find relief,” Abbott said in a statement.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, another Republican, followed Abbott’s lead and bused another 1,000 people to Washington.
US border officials have made a record number of arrests under Biden, although many are re-crossers. Some migrants who cannot be quickly deported to Mexico or their home countries under the COVID-era policy are being admitted to the United States, often to file asylum claims in U.S. immigration court.
New York City Mayor Adams’ office in recent weeks has criticized busing efforts to Washington, saying some migrants are making their way into New York City and overloading its homeless shelter system.
On Friday, the mayor’s press secretary, Fabien Levy, said Abbott was using “human beings as political pawns,” calling it a “disgusting and embarrassing stain on the state of Texas.”
Levy said New York will continue to “welcome asylum seekers with open arms, as we always have, but we’re asking for resources to help do that,” calling for support from federal officials.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has also said her city’s shelter system is being taxed by incoming migrants and last month called on the Biden administration to deploy military units to help take in the migrants, a request that frustrated White House officials . Read more
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had rejected a request for the D.C. National Guard to help transport and host migrants in the city because it would harm troop readiness.
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Reporting by Sophia Ahmed in New York and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Idris Ali in Washington; Editing by Micah Rosenberg and Daniel Wallis
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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