Texas authorities endangered the lives of migrants

The White House accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of endangering human lives after people arriving from the southwest Texas border were dropped from buses outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington home on a frosty day on Christmas Eve.

Abbott, a staunch critic of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, has not acknowledged transporting the migrants, and his office has not claimed responsibility for it.

Immigrant aid groups reported Sunday that some 110 to 130 migrants seeking asylum in the United States (many of them with children) were placed on buses in Texas and taken to Washington.

“Governor Abbott abandoned children by the side of the road in sub-zero temperatures on Christmas Eve without federal or local approval,” White House Press Secretary Abdullah Hassan said in a statement. – “Political gamesmanship accomplishes nothing and only puts people’s lives in danger.

Texas has sent thousands of migrants to Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago before.

Abbott has repeatedly said that his state specifically sends migrants to “sanctuary cities” where law enforcement is discouraged from deporting immigrants.

Hassan said the Biden administration is willing to work with Democrats and Republicans to solve the migrant problem.

Amy Fischer, an organizer with the Migrant Self-Help and Solidarity Network, spoke on National Public Radio (NPR) that migrants were immediately transferred to city-provided buses in Washington and taken to a church, where hot food and clothing were distributed.

Claudia Tristan, a co-organizer of the same group, told Reuters on Monday that almost all of the migrants who were dropped off outside the vice president’s home were already on their way to relatives and friends in the United States.

In a Dec. 20 letter to Biden, Abbott said the state was overwhelmed by thousands of migrants crossing the Texas border every day and risking freezing to death on city streets.

On Monday, Hidalgo County, Texas, judge Richard Cortez told CNN that local governments in Texas, like his district, are overwhelmed by the number of immigrants and cannot accept them all.

“Evicting immigrants from the area helps us to some extent … but it’s not the solution to the problem,” Cortez said.