At least 70 migrants have been dropped off on Kamala Harris’s doorstep in Washington DC in the last 24 hours, as the governor of Texas continues his policy of bussing migrants from his state to Democrat-run cities.
Greg Abbott, the governor, has sent at least 17,000 migrants from Texas to DC, New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia since April 2022. Over 9,200 have been sent to DC, and Abbott at the weekend defended the move, saying it was designed to share the burden.
‘The reason why we are bussing migrants across the country is because small little towns on the border like Del Rio and Eagle Pass, they have no capacity to deal with the number of people coming across the border,’ he told Fox News.
‘And we have to relieve the congestion at small communities and bus them to larger communities.’
Video on Thursday evening showed around 30 migrants disembarking from buses parked outside the Naval Observatory, where Harris lives with her husband Doug Emhoff. The clip was filmed shortly before Title 42 border rules were lifted – a move which many expect will spark a surge in migrants attempting to cross.
It was unclear whether she was at home: earlier on Thursday she attended an event at the National Museum of Asian Art in DC.
On Wednesday, a bus carrying 40 migrants arrived at her gates.
The mainly Venezuelan men, women and children were received by the organization SAMU First Response and Mutual Aid, which was set to provide them emergency shelter and an orientation on possible next steps.
It’s the second time busloads of migrants have been dispatched to the VP’s home after Abbott transported arrivals from the southern border to same address last year.
DC’s temporary lodging program has reached capacity, with there being no more space as of last week, according to the District’s Department of Human Services, with 1,249 migrants from 370 families spread across three area hotels.
New York City is also struggling to house their new arrivals: Abbott said over 5,700 have been bussed to New York from his state.
The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, says that 61,000 migrants have arrived in his city in the last year, and is appealing for federal assistance.
On Monday the heads of city agencies in New York were asked to come up with potential sites for new migrant shelters: the Flatiron Building, tents in Central Park and hangars at JFK were all suggested.
Adams on Wednesday signed an executive order lifting parts of a 40-year-old rule that the city must provide a bed for anyone who seeks it. Now migrant families can be forced to share communal shelters: before, they had to be given their own room.
Adams’s executive order also loosened the timeframe for providing accommodation, and allowed people to be evicted from migrant hotels.
The pressure on the system – with 10,000 migrants arriving a day at the U.S.-Mexico border – comes as the pandemic-era border restrictions, Title 42, are lifted.
Under Title 42, migrants could be immediately expelled back to Mexico or their home country.
The Biden administration argued that all pandemic-era policies should be lifted, and at midnight Eastern Time on Thursday, Title 42 was revoked.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz was in Brownsville, Texas on Thursday evening to take a look at the border crisis for himself.
Cruz appeared furious as he was surrounded by members of the Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard’, accusing the Biden administration of ‘deliberately’ creating the situation.
‘We are witnessing an absolute travesty unfolding on our southern border,’ Cruz began in a four minute rant.
‘On Monday we apprehended over 10,000 people on the border – the highest level in history.
‘On Tuesday we apprehended over 10,000 people on the border again the highest level in history.
‘There are right now, where we’re standing, more than 22,000 people camped just south of the border, getting ready to come across,’ Cruz explained.
‘Just in this location, in less than a month, we’ve had over 35,000 Venezuelans cross illegally just right here.’
Joe Biden admitted that there would likely be chaos at first, and his Homeland Security Secretary warned migrants not to believe the ‘lies of people smugglers’, insisting that the border was not open.
Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said this week that his officials reported people traffickers telling migrants that the border was being opened to all.
‘We have 24,000 Border Patrol Agents and Officers at the Southwest Border and have surged thousands of troops and contractors, and over a thousand asylum officers to help enforce our laws,’ said Mayorkas on Thursday.
‘Do not believe the lies of smugglers. The border is not open.’
Mayorkas and the Biden administration have faced an avalanche of criticism for the scenes at the border, as thousands of migrants gather in the hope of entering the U.S. now the restrictions have ended.
Mayorkas on Thursday tried to tell those aiming to cross that it was a bad move.
‘Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum,’ he tweeted.
‘We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the U.S.
‘People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the U.S. now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution.
‘Together with our partners throughout the federal government and Western Hemisphere, we are prepared for this transition.’
The expiring rules have been in place since March 2020.
They allowed border officials to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
U.S. authorities have unveiled strict new measures to replace Title 42, which crack down on illegal crossings while also setting up legal pathways for migrants who apply online, seek a sponsor and undergo background checks.
If successful, the reforms could fundamentally alter how migrants arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
* Article From: Daily Mail
