A group of immigrants were transported from the Texas border area to Los Angeles and dropped off at downtown’s Union Station, mirroring recent actions taken by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as reported by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The influx of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico has overwhelmed the small border towns due to President Biden’s failure to secure the border. Los Angeles, in particular, has become a sought-after destination for migrants, especially since it has declared itself a sanctuary city. Texas will continue to provide relief to its border communities until President Biden takes action to address this crisis.
Recently, the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion to officially establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city for immigrants. On Wednesday, approximately 40 immigrants, including children, were transported to Los Angeles. It is uncertain if more buses are on their way.
In response to this, Mayor Karen Bass expressed her disapproval, stating that it is unacceptable for an elected official to use human beings as pawns for political gain. She emphasized that Los Angeles was prepared for such an event and has already mobilized its emergency management, police, fire, and other departments, along with nonprofit partners, to handle the situation. Bass highlighted that Los Angeles is a city driven by compassion and dignity, and it will not be swayed by politicians who play with people’s lives.
The immigrants were taken to St. Anthony’s Croatian Catholic Church in Chinatown, where the Los Angeles Fire Department ensured their well-being and addressed any medical concerns. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights also provided assistance to the immigrants, who had been on the bus for nearly 24 hours.
Earlier in the day, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his office had sent public records requests to Governor DeSantis’ office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management to investigate the transport of two groups of immigrants from Florida to northern California. Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that Governor DeSantis could potentially face kidnapping charges for transporting the migrants, although Florida officials maintained that the migrants had voluntarily chosen to go to Florida and had signed documents agreeing to the travel. There has been no response yet from Governor Newsom or Attorney General Bonta regarding the Texas migrants bused to Los Angeles.
According to Governor Abbott’s office, Texas has been arranging buses to transport migrants from Texas to various cities, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and now Denver as well. Since the start of this busing initiative last spring, over 21,600 migrants have been sent from Texas to these self-declared sanctuary cities, according to Governor Abbott’s office.
