New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for busing immigrants to Democrat-run cities in the U.S., calling Abbott’s actions “unimaginable.”
Adams made the remarks Sunday as he greeted a bus carrying 14 asylum seekers from the Texas border town at the Port Authority bus terminal. Their arrival came on the heels of another 40 who arrived on Friday.
That’s just a fraction of the asylum seekers transported from border towns since April, when Abbott Start putting migrants on buses Heading to Democratic-run cities after Biden effort ends Title 42a pandemic-related emergency policy that enables border agents to quickly deport migrants.
After welcoming the families to New York City, Adams slammed Abbott for using the families as political pawns.
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“When you think about this country, this country has always been open to those fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, and we’ve always welcomed that,” Adams said. “This governor didn’t do that in Texas, but we’re going to send the right message, the right tone, for these families here.”
Adams said some families on the bus were forced to be there and not allowed to go where they wanted.
“It’s pretty scary when you think about what the governor is doing, the governor of Texas, after months of traveling across the border, putting them on buses with no direction,” Adams said.
In a statement Friday, Abbott defended Operation Lone Star, claiming it filled “a dangerous void left by the Biden administration’s refusal to secure the border.”
“Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has resulted in more than 290,700 immigrant arrests, more than 18,000 criminal arrests, and more than 15,400 felony charges reported,” Abbott’s statement read. “DPS has seized more than 325.9 million lethal doses across the state in the fight against fentanyl. Texas has also transported more than 6,500 migrants to the state since it began its mission to provide much-needed relief in April. The nation’s capital — now New York City has overwhelmed our border communities.”
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin be rejected D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asks National Guard to help take migrants on buses to Washington, D.C.
The Pentagon said providing the requested support would negatively impact the readiness of the Washington National Guard and adversely affect the National Guard and its members, a U.S. defense official said in a statement.
