Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Sends Busload of Migrants to Philadelphia

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the first bus of migrants is heading to the state of Philadelphia, which becomes the fourth state to have been a drop-off location that Abbott has sent migrants to. New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago were the first Democratic-run cities that Abbott initially targeted.

Abbott said in a statement that the state of Texas busing strategy "has successfully provided much-needed relief" to border communities that were affected by the record-breaking influx of migrants.

The Texas governor attributed the increase of migrants coming to the border to U.S. President Joe Biden's border policies, which he described as "reckless." He added that the state of Texas will continue doing more than any other state until "the Biden Administration does its job" and provide the sustainable border order Texans and the Americans want.

Democrats condemn the transfer of migrants to other states, arguing that relocations unfairly treat the migrants as political pawns.

Texas Sending Migrants to Philadelphia

Abbott said that the migrants will be dropped off on Wednesday in Philadelphia at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

The Texas governor's office issued a news release saying that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has "long-celebrated and fought for sanctuary city status," which makes it an ideal addition to Texas' list of drop-off locations.

Abbott later on admitted that his administration is behind the bus of migrants sent to Philadelphia a day after he denied he had organized the transfer, as reported by New York Post. The bus was carrying around 30 migrants, with Philadelphia officials receiving confirmation that the bus was headed their way after days spent in the dark.

A community partner organization had tipped them off about the bus. But the city said that it did not initially know who was sending the bus and when it would leave the Texas border town of Del Rio or when it would arrive in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia officials said Texas officials "have not coordinated with the City." Philadelphia added that it is preparing to welcome the migrants "with open arms," noting that it has been planning for the scenario since the summer.

Kenney said that "it is truly disgusting" that Abbott continues to enforce the "purposefully cruel policy using immigrant families as pawns."

Meanwhile, Philadelphia County District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that his office will investigate whether any crime was committed to sending migrants on the bus headed toward the city.

Gov. Greg Abbott Sending Migrants Program

In August, it was reported that the state of Texas has spent more than $12 million sending busloads of migrants to East Coast cities.

The state has already paid a total of $12,707,720.92 to Wynne Transportation, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management documents. It was the total amount paid to send thousands of migrants to Washington, D.C., and New York City.

More than 7,400 migrants have been sent to the nation's capital and over 1,500 have been bused to New York City.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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