More than 2,000 migrants a day flood into the US in El Paso, forcing the city to start chartering as many buses as possible in an effort to prevent it from being overrun.
After resisting Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s offer to transport immigrants for more than a year, Democratic leaders in the city said they were at a “tipping point” and had allowed the state to charter buses from the border to sanctuary cities across America.
This week the city also restarted its own charter program using money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as it tries to deal with the steady flow of people allowed to cross the border and seek asylum.
“We are looking for at least 2,000 [migrants] come forward every day,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said Monday during a city council meeting.
The city’s statistics show more than 7,500 immigrants are now in Border Patrol custody and more than 1,200 a day are being freely released into the US – a number equivalent to the height of the border crisis in May.
The Venezuelan immigrant, who traveled by bus from El Paso, Texas, arrived at The Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan on September 28. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post
El Paso has sent 24 buses from the border since last Friday, evacuating about 1,057 people in six days, according to sources.
Abbott said the fault lies with the administration for not properly enforcing immigration policy. Speaking at The Post office on Thursday, he said: “All Biden has done is lie about what’s happening at the border.
“Everything they say, whether it’s Biden, [Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro] Mayorkas or [White House Press Secretary] Karine Jean-Pierre, is ‘closed borders.’ It’s crazy.
“They really don’t understand what is happening and what is causing the problems at the border. Three years ago we had the lowest border crossings in 40 years because of four policies: Stay in Mexico, Title 42, end Catch and Release and build a border wall.
“Biden took office and eliminated all four of them.”
Worryingly, El Paso is no longer the busiest border crossing in the US, sitting behind Eagle Pass and Laredo in Texas and Tucson in Arizona, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who began his migrant bus program in April 2022, has now added Albuquerque as the latest drop-off point that will accept migrants from the border, New Mexico mayor Robert Miller told The Post.
Although leaders in New York – the main destination for migrants entering the country – have said they cannot handle any more asylum seekers, buses are still being chartered to join the estimated 60,000 migrants still in the city’s custody.
Chicago has also run out of shelters to house immigrants, but 27 buses carrying “hundreds” of people have arrived since Saturday according to the Chicago Tribune.
On Wednesday, Abbott said he had brought 15,800 immigrants to New York City through his program, which he said was only about 13% of the number the city has received since spring 2022.
His office said he has also sent more than 23,000 more migrants to Washington, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles as part of the program, which was set up to raise awareness of the border crisis in liberal countries.
He also plans to add Albuquerque in New Mexico to the list.
Migrants crossing the border at Eagle Pass, Texas board an Abbott bus at a shelter heading to New York City.James Keivom
A rental company contacted leaders from the city on behalf of the state Wednesday night to inform them of Texas’ plans to bring immigrants there, a city spokeswoman said.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kelle immediately condemned the decision, telling The Post in a statement: “The Texas Governor’s callous actions reflect his inability to lead during challenging times — we need solutions, not dangerous, life-threatening actions.
“In Albuquerque, we will continue to work with our nonprofit and faith-based partners to provide emergency assistance to immigrants passing through our city.”
Statistics published by The Post show that 1.23 million immigrants have crossed the border to seek asylum in the past 11 months, according to data analyzed by the non-profit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
