Two busloads of migrants were dropped off by a metro bus stop near Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in the Naval Observatory during the brisk early morning hours on Thursday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration approved the drop-off following her assertion that the southern border is “secure” during a recent interview. The Lone Star State’s morning surprise to Harris was intended to belie her claim and bring the problem she is ignoring to her doorstep, a source told the Washington Examiner.
Outside the naval observatory where Texas just dropped off two bus loads of migrants outside the VP’s residence. pic.twitter.com/vmUmduFZrT
— Ryan King (@thatkingthing) September 15, 2022
NO, KAMALA, THE BORDER IS NOT SECURE
“Our supposed Border Czar, Vice President Kamala Harris, has yet to even visit the border to see firsthand the impact of the open border policies she has helped implement,” Abbott said in a press release. “Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C. until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs.”
“The border is secure,” Harris insisted to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd in a recent interview.
Harris has been dubbed by conservative detractors as the “border czar” after President Joe Biden made her the point person for immigration problems dogging the country last year. Her mission was to address the “root causes” of the migration influx at the southern border by making diplomatic overtures to the migrants’ home countries to help them remedy the underlying problems catalyzing mass emigration.
Todd pressed Harris, noting that arrests at the border are projected to eclipse a record-breaking 2 million for fiscal year 2022, which ends this month. Over 1.82 million arrests have been made between last October and mid-August, per the Wall Street Journal.
“We have a secure border, and that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration. But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix, given the deterioration that happened over the last four years,” Harris said.
Abbott’s message Thursday morning was clear: The border is anything but secure.
WATCH: The U.S. will have 2 million people cross its border for the first time. @VP Harris: “We have a secure border in that that is a priority. … But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix given the deterioration that happened over the last four years.” pic.twitter.com/LoAd1ZNW5v
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 12, 2022
Since April, Texas has bused over 7,900 migrants to Washington, D.C., and since Aug. 5, transported over 2,200 migrants to New York City as part of “Operation Lone Star,” according to data from the Texas governor’s office. Recently, Texas added Chicago to the mix and shipped over 300 migrants there.
I’m told a total of 101 migrants were dropped off. 53 on one bus. 48 on the other. pic.twitter.com/LDj2TmSFmo
— Ryan King (@thatkingthing) September 15, 2022
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has snapped back at Abbott, decrying the busing gambit as “a politically motivated stunt.” She recently opened an office to respond to the onslaught of migrants pouring into the capital from Texas and unsuccessfully lobbied for National Guard logistical support.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has similarly dissed the move, arguing that “immigration enforcement is a federal authority and states should not be meddling in it.” She also blasted Abbott for harboring a “track record of causing chaos and confusion at the border.” The Biden administration has argued that it has done more for the border than former President Donald Trump.
But Abbott has been unwavering, adamant that Texas has been ground zero to a migration crisis that the Biden administration has ignored and exacerbated.
“It is interesting that they all are concerned about a few dozen or a few 100 migrants coming to their town and we get that many per hour and in almost every community across the border. So we’re dealing with this all the time, and I’m just helping out our local communities who are located on the border,” he told Fox News.
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Other red states have seemingly hopped on the bandwagon as well. For example, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent two planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also sent busloads of migrants to the nation’s capital.
Abbott is vying for reelection as governor and holds a sizable lead over his Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke in most polling.
