Texas buses nearly 52,000 migrants to US Democratic cities

HOUSTON, United States

The US state of Texas announced that its Operation Lone Star busing program has sent nearly 52,000 migrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border to Democratic cities over the past 18 months.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released the latest numbers last week revealing that since April 2022, a total of 51,840 migrants have been bused to New York City (18,500), Chicago (13,500), Washington, D.C. (12,500), Philadelphia (3,200), Denver (3,200) and Los Angeles (940).

"Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 473,900 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 34,800 criminal arrests, with more than 31,800 felony charges reported," said Abbott in a statement. "In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 431 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission."

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that there has been an influx of nearly 250,000 migrants at the Texas-Mexico border over the last two months alone and Abbott said he is not going to stop his aggressive border tactics until the president "properly addresses America's "failed immigration policies".

"Operation Lone star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border," said Abbott. "Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden's open border policies."

In fact, Abbott issued a proclamation this week in the Texas special legislative session that addresses enhancing border security "that will reduce illegal immigration and enhance the safety of Texans."

"For the first time ever, Texas will subject people to arrest for illegal entry into our state from a foreign nation," said Abbott. "All licensed law enforcement officers in Texas will be authorized to arrest or remove any person who illegally enters the State, with penalties up to 20 years in prison for refusing to comply with removal. To crack down on repeated attempts to enter Texas illegally, re-entry will be penalized with up to 20 years in prison."

Prof. Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston, said that every time Abbott sends migrants to Democratic cities, it effectively engages the mayors there to become advocates of tougher immigration policies in the US.

"Biden can ignore Abbott, but he can't ignore Democratic mayors from major cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.," said Jones.