Texas governor’s plan to bus migrants to DC appears to backfire

Migrants are thanking governor for free bus ride north

Greg Abbott. (AP)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, running for re-election, has made a point in recent months of dramatising what he frames as the “crisis” at the US-Mexico border.

Last year, Mr Abbott sent Texas National Guard troops to the state’s southern border in mission called Operation Lone Star, announcing that if Mr Biden refused to secure the border, Texans would do it themselves. That plan, however, has been roundly criticised by participants who say that they have faced pay delays and substandard living conditions.

Earlier this month, Mr Abbott launched another plan: Texas would bus migrants who arrived in the state all the way to Washington DC, bringing the so-called crisis to the doorstep of the White House and, theoretically, putting political pressure on President Joe Biden.

So far, it hasn’t worked out quite like that. The state of Texas has piled migrants onto buses and driven them 33 hours to Washington, but instead of increasing pressure on Mr Biden, the rides have played into his strategy for handling border crossings.

The Biden Administration published a document on its southern border operations in March, stating that its aim is to work with local governments and non-profit organisations to support migrants and offer them transportation out of border communities and towards their final destinations in the US.

Mr Abbott’s government has helped a number of those migrants on their way. “I would like to say thank you to the governor of Texas,” one man, Chadrack Mboyo-Bola, 26, toldThe New York Times.

Volunteers met Mboyo-Bola and his fellow migrants as they disembarked in Washington, prepared to help them reach their destinations in different parts of the country where they may be reunited with family members or friends as they wait to go through the US legal system.

Migrants making the trip to the nation’s capital on Texas-chartered buses are likely to appreciate the ride. Texas cannot compel migrants to be bused to Washington, so those who make the trip — a very small proportion of the overall number of migrants coming into the state — volunteered to do so and didn’t have to pay a cent.

According to theTimes, only ten buses carrying roughly 200 migrants have made the trip.

Regardless of the effect Mr Abbott’s plan ultimately has, immigration may be an ongoing political issue for Mr Biden. The president has been sharply criticised by a number of Democrats facing challenging re-election campaigns this year for lifting Title 42, a rule implemented by the hardline Trump administration at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic allowing the US to expel all migrants from countries where the virus is present.

A number of migrant advocacy and civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have applauded the decision.

Some of this organisations mobilized when Mr Abbott unveiled his plan, working to set up systems to support migrants who would be dropped off in Washington. In addition to providing transportation elsewhere, volunteers are also helping to provide clothing, food, children’s toys, and a range of logistical support.

In a recent press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted her appreciation for Mr Abbott’s plan.

“These are all migrants who have been processed by CBP [US Customs and Border Protection] and are free to travel,” Psaki said. “So, it’s nice the State of Texas is helping them get to their final destination.”