Democrats accuse Republicans of using migrants as 'political pawn'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Sep 23:27

The Democratic-Republican rift just keeps getting wider with migrants this time stuck in the crosshairs.

Democrats accuse Republicans of using migrants as "political pawns"

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday that Republican governors sending migrants to northern cities such as New York, Washington, and Chicago, are using migrants as "political pawns".

"Republican governors interfering in that [US immigration] process and using migrants as political pawns is shameful, is reckless, and just plain wrong," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing.

"It is indeed a political play," she said. "It is endangering people's lives and it is inhumane. It is taking away people's dignity."

"It's shameful and we should call it out," she said.

In April, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched a program that is part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star initiative, intended to slow the number of migrants crossing the border.

Since then, more than 10,000 undocumented migrants from Texas and Arizona have been relocated by bus for free to cities such as New York, Washington, and Chicago.

#OperationLoneStar has now bused more than 10,000 migrants to sanctuary cities D.C., NYC, and Chicago.

While President Biden refuses to do his job and secure the border, Texas continues stepping up to help our overwhelmed border communities. https://t.co/Pi555gwI9Y
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) September 9, 2022

In a statement published on his official website, Governor Abbott said, "The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities," adding that "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."

The rift between Democrats and Republicans is widening amid both parties going further in opposite directions on immigration than they have in the past.

This entails that even though former US President Donald Trump left the presidency in early 2021, his stronghold on the Republican party still remains cemented on matters of immigration policy.

“He's an enemy of the state if you want to know the truth. The enemy of the state is him and the group that control him which is circling around him,” Trump said about Biden at a rally in the state of Pennsylvania last week.

Earlier this morning, it was reported that 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, according to American sources.

They were told by the non-profit organization Sanctuary DMV that it had arranged for a church to offer them a "safe location".

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.