Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Migrant Busing Program: Here's How Much It Has Cost the State
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been sending migrants on buses to New York City and Washington D.C. since April.
The migrant busing program has reportedly cost the state of Texas more than $12 million from transportation expenses alone.
This move by the Republican governor was in response to the purported immigration crisis he alleged President Joe Biden caused because of open border policies.
Texas Government Spent Over $12 Million on Migrant Busing Program
According to CNN, Greg Abbott has already spent $12,707,720.92 on Wynne Transportation, the transportation provider for the state government's migrant busing program.
Reports said the migrants, who were sent to Washington D.C. and New York City, came from the Texas-Mexico border.
Abbott noted that only those with written permission were sent off to the two East Coast cities. However, it has yet to be confirmed if these migrants were offered those choices, to begin with.
The Texas Tribune reported that a spokesperson of the Texas Division of Emergency Management confirmed the total cost to the outlet on Wednesday.
To date, the Texas migrant busing program has already sent more than 7,400 migrants to Washington D.C. and around 1,500 to New York City.
Earlier this week, Abbott's office confirmed that they would be adding another drop-off point for the busing program - Chicago, Illinois, the third Democrat-run city that Abbott has selected.
The more than $12 million cost came from the state budget, as private donations only raised around $160,000 last April.
Per computations, it took the Texas government at least $1,400 per migrant to be sent off to another state.
Why Is Texas Sending Off Migrants Away?
Greg Abbott has devised the multi-billion Texas migrant busing program to solve the state's border crossing problem.
It was also reported that it is the Republican governor's way of going against Joe Biden's immigration policies.
The program, which Abbott refers to as "Operation Lone Star," was said to have provided the state the "much-needed relief" to their overwhelmed border communities.
"Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies," Abbott's office said in a July press release.
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams have openly described the busing program as "inhumane" as Abbott sends busloads of migrants to a city with no food, no stops, and no clear direction on where they are going.
On Wednesday night, the first batch of migrants reached Chicago. Fox News reported that around 80 to 100 Venezuelans have arrived with 20 to 30 small children at Chicago's Union Station.
READ MORE: Civil Rights Group Calls for Probe on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Transport Migrant Policy
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Ivan Korrs
WATCH: Texas Has Spent $12 Million Sending Migrants to Washington DC, New York - From KHOU 11