A tenth bus of illegals sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott from the southern border arrived in Los Angeles Saturday, much to the chagrin of local officials. Abbott began sending the busses in June to ease the burden on overwhelmed border communities and also to send a message to President Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas that their immigration policies are an abject failure.
Democrats consider trips such as these and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ famous flights of illegals to the bluest island in the world—Martha’s Vineyard—as "stunts." They’ve even opened investigations to probe whether these acts constitute human trafficking.
So far, no official comment from @GregAbbott_TX
— MarlaTellez (@MarlaTellez) August 26, 2023
LA Mayor Karen Bass’ office confirmed the newest arrivals:
“One bus arrived around 11:08 AM PT this morning with migrants traveling from Texas. This is the 10th bus that has arrived,” said Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications and spokesperson for Bass.
“The city has continued to work with city departments, the county, and a coalition of nonprofit organizations, in addition to our faith partners, to execute a plan set in place earlier this year. As we have before, when we became aware of the bus yesterday, we activated our plan.”
FoxLA's Marla Tellez interviewed Bass earlier in the week about the ninth bus of migrants, which arrived Monday night:
Bass:
Well, I haven't appreciated any of the buses because it would be one thing if the governor's office called us to say we have migrants. Can they come, or to notify us? We're never notified that this is happening...
Wait, what? Does Abbott get notified every time there's an influx of border crossers? Does someone call him and ask, "Hey, do you mind if we let a few thousand people into your small towns?" No.
The mayor continued, claiming it was particularly "despicable" that Abbott chose to send the bus knowing that tropical storm Hilary hit the City of Angels last week. She was further incensed that she hadn't invited the new arrivals:
Los Angeles has not extended an invitation asking for people to come. This is a political act. If it was not a political act, then the governor would try to do this in coordination with the city, and that is not happening. That has never happened.
As one of my colleagues noted, “Soooo... now migrants need an engraved invitation to come to Los Angeles?”
Of course, in reality, LA did invite more illegal immigrants, declaring itself a "sanctuary city" on June 9. Said city council member Hugo Soto-Martínez in supporting the measure:
What this (motion) means is a clear message to the community that we're not like them, that the city should be looked as an entity that you can trust, that you can come to and that you can look to for help.
Sounds like an invitation to me.
While the problem of illegal immigration is complex, and there are human beings whose lives are at stake, it's still galling to hear Democrats like Bass, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams demonizing their red state counterparts for highlighting the problem—whether by spectacle or not. Although some Dem politicians have become slightly more vocal about criticizing President Biden's horrible border policies lately, too few have shown the guts to call it out for what it is: a Biden-created humanitarian crisis.
Read: Skyrocketing Number of Deaths Shows Human Cost of Biden's Border Policies—'It's Like a Graveyard'
Here is the real crux of the problem, not Ron DeSantis or Greg Abbott:
NEW: We continue to witness mass releases of migrants caught crossing border illegally, despite DHS pledges of tougher consequences post Title 42. This was at Catholic Charities in McAllen, where migrants receive help to travel all across US, some w/ court dates years away.… pic.twitter.com/wfBd1H4vsG
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 15, 2023
NEW: We continue to witness mass releases of migrants caught crossing border illegally, despite DHS pledges of tougher consequences post Title 42. This was at Catholic Charities in McAllen, where migrants receive help to travel all across US, some w/ court dates years away. Border Patrol sources tell us busloads of these releases happen multiple times daily here in the RGV, and that migrant families have little to no fear of removal, expecting to to be released when they turn themselves in to agents.
See also:
Abbott and DeSantis Secure the Last Laugh on Immigration Despite Accusations of 'Political Stunts'
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