Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week a new destination for his migrant busing program: Chicago.
Earlier this year, Texas began busing immigrants arriving at the southern border to New York City and Washington, D.C., on a voluntary basis. Abbott’s strategy is to send the migrants to so-called “sanctuary cities” where there are more resources to help them, while also using the program to criticize the Biden administration’s border policies, Texas Tribune political reporter James Barragán said. The policy is receiving mixed reception even among the left, with some calling it “racist,” while others say it provides publicly funded assistance to immigrants.
“And it does rub a little salt in the wounds of those cities, because he then sort of, you know, kind of chides them and says, well, if you’re such good sanctuary cities, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to handle this,” Barragán said.
So far, the program has cost the state $12 million.
For more from our weekly recap of the week in Texas politics, including a Republican effort to remove Libertarian candidates from the November ballot, and the latest on the gubernatorial debate later this month, listen to the audio player above.
