PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The bus of migrants coming from Texas arrived in Philadelphia shortly before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. City emergency management officials and volunteers with local organizations greeted them with supplies, including coats, blankets and something warm to drink.
About 30 people were on the bus, including four or five young children, said City Councilmember Helen Gym, who was there when they arrived.
“We have amazing advocates who are going through and making sure we know their history and make sure we connect them to the right resources to make sure they’ll be able to integrate easily and be welcomed here and elsewhere,” she said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the Lone Star State sent its first bus of migrants to Philadelphia. It's unclear if some or all are seeking asylum in the U.S. Migrants who arrive at the border seeking asylum can be let into the country while they await their claim to be processed, which can take years.
"The first Texas bus of migrants has departed for Philadelphia," Abbott tweeted Tuesday. "The Lone Star State will continue doing more than any state in history to secure our border, including adding more sanctuary cities as drop-off locations for our busing strategy."
Shortly after arrival, they were put on SEPTA buses to go to a welcome facility in North Philadelphia. Some will be staying in the city, while others will move on to different locations on the East Coast.
On Monday, Abbott's press office had said Texas was busing migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago — but not to Philadelphia.
However, in a statement released on Tuesday, Abbott's press staff wrote: "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."
So-called "sanctuary status" means only that a city will limit cooperation with federal immigration agencies in order to reduce fear of deportation and family separation, so that people who are in the country illegally might be more willing to report crimes, use health and social services, and put their children in school.
The Texas governor’s statement confirms information Philadelphia officials say they received last week, indicating that a bus of about 30 people would be dispatched on the more-than-1,800-mile route from Del Rio, Texas, to Philadelphia.
“We’re prepared to meet with the immediate needs, and meet those with food and water and get them set up with emergency housing and so on,” said Steven Larin, deputy director of Nationalities Service Center, one of the nonprofits assisting the migrants heading our way.
“As we learn who’s on that bus and what their situations are, we can give them advice and give them resources locally or where they’re headed.”
Mayor Kenney held a press conference at City Hall Wednesday afternoon, where he says that he believes everyone who arrived has the legal means to be in the United States.
“Most are expected to continue traveling to meet family members elsewhere in the country," he said. "And many, if not all, are seeking asylum, and have demonstrated that they face real dangers of being or have been harmed in their homeland because of their race, religion or their politics.”
Kenny says another bus could likely make its way to the city at some point, so they will stay ready.
Some of that assistance could include help in the immigration process. At least two organizations are offering legal help.
“Are they law breakers? They have a right to seek asylum. They have an absolute right to come and seek asylum. They can seek asylum in any country they want,” said Sarah Paoletti, who founded and directs the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Transnational Legal Clinic.
She said there are some misconceptions surrounding the humanitarian crisis, including the people on the bus.
“Nobody makes the decision to leave their home if there aren’t really, really compelling reasons for them to do so,” said Paoletti.
Paoletti explains that when someone gets to the border and asks for safety, they’re taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection. It’s required by law to conduct a screening to see if the migrant has fears of returning to their home country.
If so, they later have to demonstrate that they have a case to be protected for asylum. Some aren’t eligible. But those who are beginning the long process to permanent, legal residency.
The Philadelphia Welcoming Fund has been launched to assist nonprofits supporting new arrivals.
A 'political ploy'
Since August, when southern states ramped up efforts to bus migrants to New York and Washington, the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Office of Emergency Management have been coordinating a response with more than a dozen local community-based organizations to prepare for potential arrivals, according to a statement from the city.
“As a proud welcoming city, we will greet our newly arrived neighbors with dignity and respect,” said Mayor Kenney, adding that the city is working with these community partners to provide services including reception and shelter, emergency health screening, food, water, language interpretation and more.
“Unlike the beginning part of these trips where it’s not a lot of agency or choice given to the individuals coming, we’re really hoping to treat everybody with the dignity they deserve and respect, and give them choices of what they want to do next,” added Larin.
Related
Philadelphia leaders said officials in Texas did not coordinate with them on any logistics. The city’s community partners indicated about half of the 30 individuals are part of family units, and half are traveling alone.
Before announcing the bus departure on Tuesday, Abbott announced that he would go further and take "unprecedented measures" to turn away migrants at the Texas-Mexico border. To "defend [the] state against an invasion," Abbott said, he is using his constitutional authority to deploy the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety personnel, to deploy gun boats and to build a border wall in multiple counties, among other measures.
Kenney criticized Abbott’s policies and actions.
“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," the mayor said. "Sadly, racism and human cruelty have historically been intertwined in how immigrants are received by and within this country, something the previous presidential administration openly and actively encouraged.”
In 2019, during the political fight over funding of his promised border wall, President Donald Trump had publicly considered releasing detainees to sanctuary cities like Philadelphia to retaliate against political critics.
Trump's plan never materialized, but Kenney said he would have taken any and all migrants sent his way.
"I'm not surprised," Kenney said at the time. "They treat human beings like they're not human. I would have taken as many as we could take."
Related
Thousands of immigrants have been relocated from Republican-led border states, like Florida and Texas, as part of a plan to counter federal immigration policies and President Joe Biden's decision to end Title 42, a public health policy put in action during former Trump’s term.
Buses carrying migrants began arriving in liberal bastions like New York and Washington since the spring. Many Democrats, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, have criticized Abbott for the move, calling the busing of migrants out of his state a "political ploy."
The city has set up the Philadelphia welcoming fund for those who wish to contribute to local efforts.