Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on April 6 vowed to bus migrants from the Lone Star State to Washington, and it looks like he made good on his promise.

What You Need To Know

  • The first bus transporting migrants from Texas to Washington arrived Wednesday morning, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced

  • Abbott on April 6 announced the policy in response to the Biden administration ending the Trump-era Title 42 program, which limits the number of asylum seekers permitted into the U.S. in order to curb the spread of COVID-19

  • The bus, Abbott’s office said, transported migrants from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua

  • Abbott’s policy has been criticized by the White House as well as Democratic lawmakers from Texas. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, called it a “political stunt”

On Wednesday morning, Abbott announced the first bus dropped migrants off between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station. A Spectrum News camera was rolling as migrants arrived. 

Busing migrants from Texas to the nation’s capital is just one of the measures Abbott put in place in response to the Biden administration ending the Trump-era Title 42, a policy which limits the number of asylum seekers permitted into the country in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. That program is scheduled to end in May.

It’s anticipated that Title 42 ending will lead to an uptick in migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

Abbott ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses in order to transport the migrants. Abbott’s office later clarified that the bus trips are entirely voluntary and no migrant can be made to board a bus.

The governor’s office said that the bus that arrived Wednesday carried migrants from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

"As the federal government continues to turn a blind eye to the border crisis, the State of Texas will remain steadfast in our efforts to fill in the gaps and keep Texans safe," Abbott wrote in a news release. "By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately meet the needs of the people they are allowing to cross our border. Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administration’s failure to secure our border." 

Abbott’s policy has been criticized by the White House as well as Texas lawmakers.

“His own office admits that a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported, and then he can’t compel them to because, again, enforcement of our country’s immigration laws lies with the federal government,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said when the policy was announced. “I know that the governor of Texas or any state does not have the legal authority to compel anyone to get on a bus.” 

Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, told Spectrum News she would not be surprised if there is litigation against Abbott and she believes his plan is unconstitutional. 

“The very idea that he thinks he should get involved… Put them [migrants] on a bus paid for by our taxpayers, all the way up here to Washington, D.C. to just make a political point. It’s just a political stunt. And it’s worse. It’s shameful, because we’re talking about families, we’re talking about children. People that are fleeing violence or fleeing poverty,” Garcia said.