Another bus dropped off immigrants in front of Vice President Kamala Harris‘s home in Washington this week, part of an effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to give the Biden administration a small glimpse into the impact of mass immigrant releases in border communities.
Approximately 50 people exited a bus outside Harris’s estate in Washington’s northwest quadrant Thursday morning. Harris and previous vice presidents reside at a large white house on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, roughly three miles from the White House.
One man who arrived in the nation’s capital Thursday told NBC News that he had had a positive experience on board and was treated “very well” and given food throughout the trip.
The drop-off is the fourth time Abbott has directed buses to Harris’s front door. Most buses arriving from Texas have gone toward the U.S. Capitol with a drop-off near Union Station. This morning, volunteers from international humanitarian aid organization SAMU First Response were on site, though it is not clear how they had learned the bus was coming.
Harris did not exit her home to greet the immigrants.
ARRESTS OF HAITIANS CROSSING ILLEGALLY DROP 99% IN A YEAR
In May, Abbott announced that he would bring the border crisis to President Joe Biden’s hometown and begin offering free transportation to Washington. He initially dropped immigrants off several blocks from the U.S. Capitol. He later expanded the busing operation to Chicago and New York City. The busing operation is in its sixth month and shows no signs of stopping.
Since Biden took office 20 months ago, the number of noncitizens arrested for illegally entering the country from Mexico has spiked from below 50,000 per month over the past decade to between 150,000 and 230,000 each month since then.
Fewer than half of all illegal immigrants apprehended are removed or turned away at the border, leaving the majority to be released into the U.S. and told to show up for court proceedings for their unlawful entry — a federal offense — years down the road.
Because the Biden administration has chosen not to detain people through court hearings and has not surged immigration court operations to the border as the Trump administration had done, the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have had to discharge thousands of people onto the street of border towns daily since March 2021.
The releases have overwhelmed resources of small, poor border towns, many of which do not have bus lines that run to major cities or airports.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, followed Abbott’s example and began offering free bus rides to Washington.
The Republicans have maintained that all three cities are “sanctuary” zones that for years have vowed to protect people illegally residing in the United States, so they ought to be willing to accept the buses of immigrants.
The mayors have rebuked Abbott and called for federal and state assistance to house those arriving in their cities temporarily.
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Very few immigrants who are released into the U.S. travel by the Arizona or Texas buses. The large majority buys airplane tickets or bus tickets to other parts of the country where they have friends or family. The federal government is reimbursing nonprofit groups for some costs associated with helping immigrants book tickets.
