Abbott vows buses will keep rolling in face of fewer border crossings


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On Wednesday, July 18, at the Republican National Convention, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, made a vow to keep buses transporting migrants to Democratic cities “rolling.” However, the buses have not been rolling into other cities consistently because the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border has fallen dramatically, according to a report on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Migrant crossings went from a record-high of around 300,000 in December to around 84,000 in June — the lowest month total under President Joe Biden since he took office in 2021. Smaller numbers of migrants crossing the border mean that fewer buses are needed to transport them out of the state of Texas under Abbott’s busing program.

Some cities report that they have not seen a single bus from the Lonestar State since January. Meanwhile, Chicago, the city where the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is set to take place, said that it had a bus from Texas arrive in a Chicago Suburb in June. However, city officials said that a migrant bus has not stopped within the city since Christmas.

Meanwhile, the White House credits the drop in illegal border crossings to its enhanced security measures at the border. In June, President Biden issued an executive order that limited asylum until illegal crossings dropped below a certain threshold.

Abbott’s office admitted that there are fewer buses rolling out of Texas. However, a spokesperson for the governor attributes the fall in numbers to the Abbott’s border security efforts, particularly, Operation Lone Star.

The spokesperson attributed the governor’s actions to have led to “a decrease in illegal crossing by 85%.”

Operation Lone Star is an $11 billion initiative and has faced legal challenges. For instance, the United States Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to cut and remove state-installed razor wire along the Rio Grande in January.

Furthermore, immigration advocates claim that the operation falsely conflates immigration with serious crimes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said that most arrests involving migrants include minor offenses and few have led to drugs or weapons charges.

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Full story

On Wednesday, July 18, at the Republican National Convention, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, made a vow to keep buses transporting migrants to Democratic cities “rolling.” However, the buses have not been rolling into other cities consistently because the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border has fallen dramatically, according to a report on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Migrant crossings went from a record-high of around 300,000 in December to around 84,000 in June — the lowest month total under President Joe Biden since he took office in 2021. Smaller numbers of migrants crossing the border mean that fewer buses are needed to transport them out of the state of Texas under Abbott’s busing program.

Some cities report that they have not seen a single bus from the Lonestar State since January. Meanwhile, Chicago, the city where the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is set to take place, said that it had a bus from Texas arrive in a Chicago Suburb in June. However, city officials said that a migrant bus has not stopped within the city since Christmas.

Meanwhile, the White House credits the drop in illegal border crossings to its enhanced security measures at the border. In June, President Biden issued an executive order that limited asylum until illegal crossings dropped below a certain threshold.

Abbott’s office admitted that there are fewer buses rolling out of Texas. However, a spokesperson for the governor attributes the fall in numbers to the Abbott’s border security efforts, particularly, Operation Lone Star.

The spokesperson attributed the governor’s actions to have led to “a decrease in illegal crossing by 85%.”

Operation Lone Star is an $11 billion initiative and has faced legal challenges. For instance, the United States Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to cut and remove state-installed razor wire along the Rio Grande in January.

Furthermore, immigration advocates claim that the operation falsely conflates immigration with serious crimes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said that most arrests involving migrants include minor offenses and few have led to drugs or weapons charges.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,