101 migrants on two buses dropped off outside VP Harris' home

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Sep 2022 19:08

The migrants are mostly from Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia, and Mexico, and they were dropped off right outside Kamala Harris' residence.

Washington DC is considered to be one of the "sanctuary states"

101 migrants on board two buses sent by Texan governor Greg Abbott were dropped off next to Vice President Kamala Harris' home in Washington DC on Thursday morning, according to American sources.

The 101 migrants were picked up in Eagle Pass, Texas, and were sent to Washington under the care and supervision of the non-profit organization Sanctuary DMV. According to the organization, it had arranged for a church to offer them a "safe location".

Most of the migrants were from South American countries, such as Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia, and Mexico.

BREAKING: Two buses of 101 migrants mostly from Venezuela arrive outside @VP Harris house in DC sent by @GregAbbott_TX - one migrant telling me he believes the border is “open” @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/Q70utdE4k0
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) September 15, 2022

Abbott has previously sent dozens of buses of migrants across northern parts of the US, including New York, DC, and Chicago. Texas’ migrant buses are meant to send a message about immigration and antagonize Democrats as Southern states have been protesting the White House's inability to manage the border and migrant crises by relocating migrants to so-called sanctuary states.

Earlier this month, Houston police raised concerns about a trend of migrant children reported missing in Texas City, according to Reuters.

Simultaneously, federal and local officials are reportedly struggling to locate close to a dozen unaccompanied migrant children, the report said.

Since Biden took office in January 2021, more than 200,000 non-Mexican minors who cannot be quickly turned around at the border have been caught crossing alone.

At the beginning of Biden’s presidency, an increase in unaccompanied minors overwhelmed Border Patrol stations, trapping children in overcrowded conditions for more than 72 hours.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city lacks the proper infrastructure to handle migrants but would "rise to the occasion." Last week, Bowser declared a public emergency in response to buses of migrants sent in by Republican governors from the border states of Texas and Arizona. She issued two requests for assistance from the National Guard, both of which have been denied by the Department of Defense.

Just hours prior to the buses' arrival, two planes of migrants were sent by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday.

Around 50 of the migrants, including children, landed Wednesday on the island, where Democratic presidents from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have summered.

According to Dylan Fernandes, a local state legislator, they were flown on chartered flights that took off from Texas.

Below is how Congressman Bill Keating reacted on the matter:

History does not look kindly on leaders who treat human beings like cargo, loading them up and sending them a thousand miles away without telling them their destination. Still, Florida @GovRonDeSantis made that choice today.
— Congressman Bill Keating (@USRepKeating) September 15, 2022