A mutual help organisation said that more than one hundred migrants landed in the area on Saturday evening, which was one of the coldest Christmas Eves ever recorded in the nation’s capital. The area is near the house of Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to Madhvi Bahl, an organiser with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, the three buses that were expected to arrive in New York on Christmas Day with approximately 130 immigrants were rerouted to the Washington area because of road closures and frigid conditions. The volunteers had anticipated that the buses would arrive in New York on Christmas Day.
According to Ms. Bahl, migrants arrived in Washington after a trek lasting almost thirty-six hours, with some carrying nothing more than a T-shirt or a thin blanket. The mutual assistance organisation assisted in the coordination of the migrants’ travel and accommodation, in addition to providing them with food, jackets, shoes, and other pieces of warm clothing to withstand the temperatures that dropped below 20 degrees.
According to the mutual assistance organisation, the buses were sent by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which acts in accordance with the direction from the office of Governor Greg Abbott. A request for comment was sent to the office of Mr. Abbott, but there was no immediate response.
Ms. Bahl commented on the activities of the governor’s office, stating, “They have been doing it for a few months now; it’s all for the show.” “The viciousness is part of the joke. It is reprehensible to take advantage of individuals in this way for political purposes.
It appeared that the three buses were the most recent to be sent by Republican governors along the southern border to Democratic-led cities, and the scores of migrants who were dropped off near Ms. Harris’s home on the grounds of the Naval Observatory were not the first people to be dropped off there.
Mr. Abbott made the announcement that beginning in April, the state of Texas will begin chartering buses as a means of conveying a political message to cities such as Washington, New York, and Chicago and relieving some of the pressure brought on by the historically high levels of immigration.
Mr. Abbott lambasted the actions of the president over the border in a letter that he sent to President Biden a week ago. He argued that the flood of migrants put them “in danger of freezing to death on city streets.”
“Texas has endured a disproportionate weight generated by your open border policies,” he stated in the letter. “The hardship has been caused by your open borders.” The responsibility of finding a solution to this situation does not fall on border states like Texas.
Concerns of Mr. Abbott included the possibility of the repeal of Title 42, a public health provision that was in effect during the epidemic and allowed for the expedited deportation of migrants.
On Wednesday, as the programme was ready to expire, which was anticipated to bring about an increase in the number of people crossing the border, thousands of migrants were waiting over the Texas border. In spite of this, the Supreme Court issued an order delaying the policy’s expiration date, which will ensure that the health order remains in effect for at least a few more days.
In a statement released on Christmas Day, the White House voiced its disapproval of the transportation of migrants to Washington.
“Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road on Christmas Eve in temperatures below freezing without coordinating with any federal or local authorities,” said Abdullah Hasan, a spokesman for the White House. “This occurred without any coordination with any federal or local authorities.” “This was a mean-spirited, reckless, and disgraceful act.”
Mr. Hasan continued by saying that the administration has said on several occasions that it is eager to work with both parties on the issue of immigration reform and border security. He stated that “these political games achieve nothing and just put lives in peril.”
