Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed Thursday that he would bus immigrants out of the Lone Star State “until we have a new president.”
In a speech at the New York Republican Party’s annual gala in 2016, Abbott, 66, discussed the origins of the busing plan and the 40,000-plus immigrants he claimed were not originally included in the plan. He explained why he decided to send the students to New York City. Manhattan.
The governor decided to start busing migrants from Texas after local officials expressed concern about the number of migrants being dropped off in their communities by federal authorities after being apprehended at the border. said.
Abbott claimed that the original plan was to simply bus migrants to Washington, D.C., because “we don’t have Joe Biden, we don’t have a border czar.” [Vice President Kamala Harris] He actually visited the border and witnessed the chaos and sacrifice. ”
“So my thought process was, if they don’t come to the border, we’ll bring the border to them,” he explained.
The governor claimed he expanded the busing program to New York City only after criticism from Mayor Eric Adams.
“Quite literally out of nowhere, Eric Adams started criticizing me for putting them in New York City,” Abbott recalled.
“We contacted his office and made it clear, “We’re not going to send them to New York.” That means Joe Biden will send immigrants to New York.”
Mr. Abbott claimed that when criticism from New York City officials did not stop, he decided that if he was going to receive criticism, he wanted to take credit.
“Thus began the busing of illegal immigrants to the sanctuary city of New York City.”
Adams spokesperson disputed Abbott’s claims And that Timeline When the bus program expanded to New York City.
is more than 107,000 immigrants They have been traveling by bus from the Lone Star State since April 2022, according to Abbott’s office.
“We must continue this process until next November when we have a new president who will protect America’s borders,” Abbott vowed.
Former President Donald Trump, the likely 2024 Republican nominee, has floated the idea of naming Abbott as his running mate, but the governor has downplayed his interest in the role.
In a keynote address to Republican officials in the Empire State, Mr. Abbott slammed Mr. Biden’s border policies and called for the 81-year-old commander-in-chief to repeal President Trump’s measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration. Official decisions led to “chaos” and created an “extremely dangerous” situation.
“Texas is ground zero for the border destruction policies Joe Biden has imposed,” Abbott said.
“You know, this chaos that we’ve seen across the country seems to have been going on for so long that it was only four years ago that illegal border crossings were at their lowest in 45 years. It’s so easy to forget,” he added, adding that President Trump has “remained in Mexico,” implemented Title 42, abolished “catch-and-release,” and built more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. He praised that.
Abbott noted that the Biden administration has phased out all of these measures, resulting in “the equivalent of the entire population of New York City” entering the United States illegally over the past three years.
Mr Abbott claimed that “all-time records have been set for the number of people placed on terrorist watchlists and arrested” at the border.
“What none of us know at this point is how many terrorists on the watch list have escaped detection,” he warned.
Mr. Abbott said that when Mr. Biden claims that Congress needs to pass legislation to secure the border, the president is “lying” or “has no idea what he’s talking about” or anything like that. He suggested it was both.
“The executive branch not only has the power, but also a mandate by Congress, to deny illegal entry to the United States. Biden is not doing that.”
“He is aiding and abetting illegal entry into the United States.”
