By Costas Pitas
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Wednesday the first group of migrants bused from his state to Los Angeles had arrived in the California city, the latest move by Republicans opposed to the policies of immigration of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, said more than 40 migrants arrived in the city and called the bus trip “a despicable stunt that Republican governors have become so fond of”.
Texas has bussed more than 21,000 migrants to Washington, New York, Chicago and other cities since 2022, in what some critics have called a stunt amid a national debate over high levels of arrivals. immigrants along the southern border.
In recent weeks, two flights carrying migrants have landed in California’s capital, Sacramento, as state authorities investigate Florida’s role in transporting them from Texas via New Mexico, according to the prosecutor’s office. General of California.
“Small border towns in Texas remain overwhelmed and overrun with the thousands of people crossing illegally into Texas from Mexico due to President Biden’s refusal to secure the border,” Abbott said in a statement.
“Los Angeles is a big city where migrants seek to go, especially now that its city leaders have endorsed its self-proclaimed status as a sanctuary city.”
Sanctuary cities adopt policies designed to build trust between local authorities and migrants, regardless of their immigration status, and limit their cooperation with federal authorities in immigration enforcement.
On June 9, a motion to draft a bill to make Los Angeles a “true sanctuary city” was passed by the city council, one of its supporters, council member Eunisses Hernandez, said on Twitter.
Bass said the city was not caught off guard and found out about the trip when the bus was en route, allowing officials to mobilize police, firefighters and other departments and nonprofit partners ahead of the attack. arrival of the bus.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and Christian Schmollinger)