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FIGHT OVER BORDER SECURITY ESCALATES AFTER GOVERNORS SEND MIGRANTS TO KAMALA
HARRIS’ HOME, MARTHA’S VINEYARD



The latest moves by Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week
have triggered outrage among immigration rights’ groups and Democrats who have
accused the Republicans of engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants
like “human cargo” to score political points.

by Stephen Neukam Sept. 15, 2022 Updated: 17 hours ago

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Migrants who were bused from Texas arrive at the Naval Observatory in
Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The Naval Observatory campus is the site of the
official residence of the vice president of the United States. Credit: Marat
Sadana/REUTERS TV via REUTERS

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the most essential Texas news.

WASHINGTON — Gov. Greg Abbott’s state-funded program to bus migrants to cities
run by Democrats reached a national fever pitch on Thursday, with buses dropping
people off outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’ D.C. residence.

What started in the spring as a publicity stunt to draw the attention of the
White House has caught fire, with other Republican officials in Arizona and
Florida following suit. On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis set off a
national frenzy after chartering two flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard,
an affluent vacation spot in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Texas has ramped up its
own busing efforts, sending more migrants to other Democrat-run metropolitan
areas where local officials say their social services are being pushed to the
limits.

The latest moves by Abbott and DeSantis this week have triggered outrage among
immigration rights’ groups and Democrats who have accused the Republicans of
engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants like “human cargo” to score
political points.

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RELATED STORY


GOV. GREG ABBOTT’S MIGRANT BUSING PROGRAM IS WHAT ASYLUM ADVOCATES WANTED ALL
ALONG

Sept. 2, 2022

Early Thursday morning, Abbott gleefully took credit for sending between 75 and
100 migrants to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., where Harris and
second gentleman Doug Emhoff reside. The move was in apparent retaliation for
her comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in which she called the border “secure,”
stoking conservative anger nationwide.

“We did [send them],” Abbott said to Lubbock radio station KFYO. “She’s the
border czar, and we felt that if she won’t come down to see the border, if
President [Joe] Biden will not come down and see the border, we will make sure
they see it firsthand. … And listen, there’s more where that came from.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

But Abbott said his office was not responsible for the two chartered planes that
carried approximately 50 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard on
Wednesday.



DeSantis claimed credit for the planes leaving Texas. He told NPR and other
outlets that it was part of the state’s program to relocate migrants to a
“sanctuary destination.” It’s unclear whether the migrants in the planes had any
connection to Florida. The Florida Legislature set aside $12 million for the
state’s migrant relocation program.

“Our office has had conversations with Governor DeSantis and his team about
supporting our busing strategy to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed
and overrun border communities,” said Renae Eze, Abbott’s spokesperson. “Though
we were not involved in these initial planes to Martha’s Vineyard, we appreciate
the support in responding to this national crisis and helping Texans. Governor
Abbott encourages and welcomes all his fellow governors to engage in this effort
to secure the border and focus on the failing and illegal efforts of the
Biden-Harris Administration to continue these reckless open border policies.”


Venezuelan migrants stand outside St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown,
Massachusetts, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, on Sept. 14, 2022. Credit:
Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette/Handout via REUTERS

DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

Migrants landing in Martha’s Vineyard told reporters that they didn’t know where
they were, that they thought they were going to different destinations or that
they were lured on to the planes with the promise of being able to get work
papers. Local officials said they were given no advanced warning about the
migrants but would be providing resources to support them.

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Migrants in Martha's Vineyard spoke with reporters from the Vineyard Gazette in
interviews that were shared with The Texas Tribune.

Uvaldo Arcalla told a reporter he was in San Antonio in a shelter where four
people slept in a room. He said they were told they would go to Martha’s
Vineyard but didn’t get any concrete information like who would host them or
what they would be doing there.

"It was a big surprise for everyone," he said.

Elias Erales Perche said he was in Texas for four days when someone told him he
would get food and shelter on Martha’s Vineyard. Another man who asked not to be
identified said he came to the United States with his eight family members from
Venezuela. He has an immigration court date on Sept. 21 in Los Angeles. He said
he’s not sure why he was sent to Martha’s Vineyard but is now worried about how
to make his immigration court date in California.

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"I think this is all a ploy to get us to miss our court dates so we get in
trouble with the law and they can deport us," he said.

Democrats were incensed by the reports from Massachusetts.

“The Department of Justice needs to investigate Governor DeSantis for using
fraud and deception to lure people out of state only to abandon them without
fulfilling his false promises. Same for Greg Abbott,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro,
D-San Antonio, said in a tweet.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, tweeted that the state is “fully capable
of handling asylum seekers” but that “exploiting vulnerable people for political
stunts is repulsive and cruel.”

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The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest Hispanic civil rights
organization in the U.S., held a news conference near the Harris residence
Thursday afternoon and claimed two of the migrants on the buses had to be
hospitalized after they arrived. One was a person with diabetes who went into
shock and another was a baby who experienced health issues, according to Domingo
Garcia, the group’s national president.

“These are human beings, these are fellow Christians,” Garcia said in front of
the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. “They are being treated like human
cargo. I think it’s time that President Biden and Congress and the Senate
provide humanitarian relief.”

Garcia said the migrants were being helped by a religious nonprofit.

To date, Abbott’s office says it’s transported at least 10,000 migrants to
Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago — self-proclaimed sanctuary cities run by
Democrats. Records show Texas has spent at least $12 million to find the rides.
The trips are under the umbrella of his more than $4 billion border security
initiative dubbed Operation Lone Star, intended to curb border crossings.

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Republicans frequently refer to those taking the trips as “illegal immigrants,”
but many of them are asylum-seekers who have been allowed to enter the country
pending the outcome of their legal cases. The program initially started with bus
trips to Washington, D.C., as a way to antagonize Biden over his border policies
and the increase of migrants entering into Texas. But Abbott, who is running for
his third term as governor on a border security platform, expanded the busing
program to additional cities as he has leaned in to national attention he’s
received for stoking fights with Democratic mayors, who are complaining about
migrants straining their city resources.

Those complaints play right into Abbott’s favor, as he’s called those Democrats
hypocrites and noted that Texas’ border communities are bearing the same strain
felt by the larger metros.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Wednesday that the city’s
safety net for receiving the migrants “is nearing its breaking point.” Adams
suggested the city, which has a “right to shelter” law, may need to rethink how
it can continue to support migrants upon arrival.

“In this new and unforeseen reality, where we expect thousands more to arrive
every week going forward, the city’s system is nearing its breaking point,”
Adams said. “As a result, the city’s prior practices, which never contemplated
the busing of thousands of people into New York City, must be reassessed.”

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Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public health emergency last week to
deal with the migrants, creating a new government office in the process to
coordinate their arrivals, which will cost an initial $10 million.

Leaders of those cities have complained that Texas is not coordinating with them
or giving them notice of when buses will arrive. Advocates and aid workers who
support migrants along the border, meanwhile, have said that despite the
political motivations driving the initiative, Abbott is actually providing many
of the migrants a useful service by offering them free and safe transportation
to their final destinations.

In May, Arizona started busing migrants from the state to Washington, D.C.,
which has cost the state $3 million in its first three months, according to
AZFamily. El Paso, a Democrat-led city, sent a bus of 35 migrants to New York in
late August.

While the migrant transportation policy elicited a polarized response
nationally, recent polling from Texas suggests a majority of the state’s voters
support the governor’s initiative to bus migrants to other parts of the country.
According to the polling, 51% approved of the policy and just 35% opposed it.

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Patrick Svitek, Matthew Choi and Uriel Garcia contributed to this report.

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