Texas has bused more than 102K migrants to sanctuary cities since 2022
Texas has bused more than 102,000 migrants to so-called sanctuary cities — including over 37,500 to New York City — in response to the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott revealed Monday.
The Texas governor launched the migrant busing program in April 2022 to force blue states to share the burden the Lone Star State has faced as a result of record numbers of illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers crossing the border since President Biden took office.
“Texas has transported over 102,000 migrants to sanctuary cities,” Abbott said in a tweet. “Overwhelmed Texas border towns should not bear the brunt of Biden’s open border policies.”
“Our transportation mission will continue until Biden secures the border,” the governor warned.
New York City and Chicago have received the bulk of migrants relocated from Texas.
More than 37,500 migrants have been sent to the Big Apple since August 2022, and the Windy City has received more than 31,200 over the same time, according to the governor’s office.
Denver has sent more than 16,000 migrants since May 18, while more than 12,500 migrants have been directed to Washington, D.C. since April 2022.
Philadelphia and Los Angeles have received the least amount of migrants, more than 3,400 and 1,500, respectively.
The latest totals represent an increase of about 7,000 since the state last provided an update on the number of migrants that have been bused out under Operation Lone Star – a state border security and burden-sharing effort launched by Abbott in 2021.
Last week, the governor proclaimed that Texas’ right to self-defense “supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary” amid a feud with the Biden administration over his efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration.
As part of Operation Lone Star, Texas has installed razor wire along a 30-mile stretch of land near the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, which the US Supreme Court ruled last week could be removed by the Biden administration.
The Justice Department has also threatened to sue Texas if it enforces a new law that allows state authorities to arrest, jail, prosecute and deport migrants who enter the country illegally, and has already sued the state over its construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande.
