Texas Gov. Greg Abbott‘s plan to bus illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., is an unenforceable publicity stunt that would require migrants to volunteer for the trip, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
Abbott has announced plans to bus illegal immigrants released into the state by the Border Patrol to the nation’s capital, a move meant to force the Biden administration to address the crisis at the border. But the announcement itself is the point in full, according to Psaki.
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“I’m not aware of what authority the governor would be doing that under,” she said. “It’s pretty clear this is a publicity stunt. [Abbott’s] own office admits a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported. They can’t compel them to because, again, enforcement of our country’s immigration laws lies with the federal government, not a state.”
Abbott, a Republican, said the state has readied 900 charter buses to transport migrants the 1,700 miles from the state’s border with Mexico to the nation’s capital.
“To help local officials whose communities are being overwhelmed by hoards of illegal immigrants who are being dropped off by the Biden administration, Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants who have been dropped off by the Biden administration to Washington, D.C.,” Abbott said during a press conference in Weslaco, Texas.
The specific drop-off location would be the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Abbott added. Whether he’d do so only for migrants who volunteered for the journey remains to be seen.
A follow-up question for Psaki was about whether migrants would want to come to Washington, D.C., but she sidestepped it.
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“I don’t know,” she said. “But I know the governor of Texas or any state does not have the legal authority to compel anyone to get on a bus.”
