Gov. Greg Abbott continued his trend of shipping off migrants who made their way into Texas via the southern border, sending over 40 to the west coast.
His latest effort marked the first time Abbott has sent migrants who were released from U.S. custody to Los Angeles, and he released a statement about the incident Wednesday on Twitter.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also released a statement about the people Abbott had dropped off at Union Station.
“This did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us,” Bass said. “Now, it's time to execute our plan. Our emergency management, police, fire and other departments were able to find out about the incoming arrival while the bus was on its way and were already mobilized along with nonprofit partners before the bus arrived.”
Los Angeles is taking steps to become a “sanctuary city” after its city council passed a motion that directed a number of city departments to prepare for such a change, an announcement that Abbott apparently seized on.
In a statement, Abbott called Los Angeles “a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status.”
A slew of nonprofit organizations in L.A. have responded to the needs of the city’s newest residents, even if they expressed disgust at how they got there.
One spokesperson for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center said that “instead of treating [the migrants] as political props, here in Los Angeles, we will treat them with the dignity that they deserve as human beings,” according to CBS News.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom meanwhile is taking an opposite approach from Abbott, saying state government “is in close communication with the County and City of Los Angeles, and our community partners. Together, we will make sure that the children and families who arrived are safe and welcomed.”
Abbott, a Republican, has previously transferred migrants across state lines to Democrat-run cities including New York, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C, a practice that has been echoed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In the last 15 months, Abbott’s office said that over 21,600 migrants have been transported out of Texas as part of the program, according to CBS News.
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