Greg Abbott Accused of Targeting Black Mayors With Migrant Busing

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is being accused of intentionally focusing on cities run by Black mayors in his efforts to bus migrants out of his state as a political transfer in opposition to the Biden administration’s immigration insurance policies.

In a Monday tweet, New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, who’s Black, stated it is “unattainable” to disregard the truth that Abbott’s busing technique is aimed toward New York Metropolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Washington, D.C., as a result of they’re “run by Black mayors.”

“Put plainly, Abbott is utilizing this disaster to harm Black-run cities,” Adams stated.

Michael Hancock has been the mayor of Denver since 2011, Mayor Muriel Bowser gained reelection in D.C. final November, and Karen Bass started her tenure as mayor of Los Angeles in January. Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot continues to be working Chicago till Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson is sworn in later this month. Hancock, Bowser, Bass, Lightfoot and Johnson are all Black.

It has been almost a 12 months since Abbott first started directing state officers to move migrants to Democratic-led cities in an effort to get President Joe Biden’s consideration concerning the report variety of asylum seekers who’ve crossed the U.S.-Mexico border up to now two years. Since busing the primary group of migrants to Washington, D.C., on April 6, 2022, Abbott has additionally focused different cities, like New York Metropolis and Chicago.

Adams stated over the weekend that he realized that Abbott deliberate to renew busing migrants up north. Newsweek reached out by electronic mail to Abbott for remark.

The inflow of migrants arriving at Abbott’s route has strained sources in a lot of metropolitan areas. New York Metropolis is on monitor to spend over $4 billion between 2023 and 2024 to shelter the over 30,000 migrants which have arrived, in line with town comptroller’s workplace.

“Final 12 months, Abbott bused migrants to New York in opposition to their will, reportedly had safety guards maintain them hostage on buses once they tried to get off in different cities, shipped them off whereas sick and COVID-positive and tagged people with barcodes,” Adams stated. “Regardless of Abbott’s inhumane actions, New York Metropolis will proceed to do all it might to deal with this inflow, however this disaster is multiple metropolis can deal with.”

On Sunday, Lightfoot wrote a letter to Abbott criticizing his plans to ship extra individuals to their cities.

“Your lack of consideration or coordination in an try and trigger chaos and rating political factors has resulted in a important tipping level in our skill to obtain people and households in a protected, orderly, and dignified method,” Lightfoot wrote.

Abbott has stated that he’ll proceed to ship migrants to different cities till the federal authorities does one thing to deal with the scenario on the border. Though Texas will not be the one state to see a rise in migrant encounters throughout the border, some Texas cities, like El Paso, have witnessed a 130 p.c spike since final 12 months.

Responding this previous December to criticisms over the choice to bus migrants to Washington, D.C., Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze referred to as Democratic complaints “hypocritical” and the continuing scenario on the border “a Biden-made disaster.”

Lightfoot stated whereas she was sympathetic to the challenges that border states are going through, she stated the immigration disaster will not be a state versus state or metropolis versus metropolis drawback however a “nationwide problem that requires nationwide collaboration.”

“Deal with these people with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” she wrote to the Texas governor. “To inform them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely bus them right here is an inviable and deceptive alternative.”

Chatting with CNN’s This Morning on Monday, Lightfoot responded to critics who stated she misplaced her bid for reelection as a result of she was a “divisive chief” with “a sequence of persona conflicts.” She stated her identification as Chicago’s first Black feminine mayor contributed significantly to the methods through which she was perceived by the general public.

“Oftentimes within the narrative, the give attention to ladies, particularly Black ladies, is about personalities and the way we govern, how we current ourselves,” Lightfoot stated. She added that there is little give attention to the precise insurance policies she labored to perform.

“Each lady in management, each lady who dares say ‘I’ve one thing to say. I need to lead. I need to contribute again,’ faces the identical factor,” she added. “We have simply acquired to place that apart and take a look at the details and the substance of what has been achieved.”