Governor Abbott to Expand Migrant Drop-Offs to Philadelphia
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Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced that he would be adding Philadelphia to a list of sanctuary city destinations for migrant busing. The first bus has already departed and will be dropping passengers off Wednesday morning.
In addition to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, and Chicago are among the Democratic destinations to which Abbott has sent migrants who have crossed the border into Texas. The busing, which Democrats have slammed as a political stunt, is designed to call President Biden’s attention to the ongoing border crisis his lax border-enforcement policies have fueled, Republicans allege.
“Since April, Texas’ busing strategy has successfully provided much-needed relief to our border communities overwhelmed by the historic influx of migrants caused by President Biden’s reckless open border policies,” Abbott said in a statement. “Until the Biden Administration does its job and provides Texans and the American people with sustainable border security, Texas will continue doing more than any other state in the nation’s history to defend against an invasion along the border, including adding more sanctuary cities like Philadelphia as drop-off locations for our busing strategy.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis joined Abbott in authorizing migrant relocations to progressive states. In September, DeSantis deployed two flights of migrants to the liberal Massachusetts enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, triggering outrage from Democrats who claimed that he was making political pawns out of vulnerable asylum-seekers. State Republicans claimed the expenditures were approved in a bipartisan budget package earlier in the year.
“Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has long-celebrated and fought for sanctuary city status, making the city an ideal addition to Texas’ list of drop-off locations,” Abbott chided in a press release.
Kenney said in a statement Tuesday night that his city had been preparing for the possibility that Abbott would send migrants there, insisting that Philadelphia will welcome and assimilate them. However, he accused Abbott of exploiting the desperation of migrant families to make a political point.
“It is truly disgusting to hear today that Governor Abbott and his Administration continue to implement their purposefully cruel policy using immigrant families — including women and children — as pawns to shamelessly push his warped political agenda,” he said.
Abbott won a third term as governor last Tuesday against multi-time political candidate Beto O’Rourke.
