Texas begins flying migrants from southern border to Chicago — the first plane carried over 120 people

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Texas begins flying migrants from southern border to Chicago — the first plane carried over 120 people

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is sending a plane with more than 120 migrants from the US-Mexico border to Chicago in an increase in Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s bus operation that has given more than 80,000 migrants free rides to Democratic-led cities across the country since last year.

The first flight, which Abbott’s office said departed from El Paso and arrived on Tuesday, was arranged a week after the Chicago city council took new action on busloads of immigrants that has drawn sharp criticism from Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The city said bus operators began trying to drop people off in neighboring cities to avoid penalties that could include fines, towing or detention.

Bus operators could now face stiffer penalties in Chicago for not picking up new passengers at designated locations or failing to fill out city paperwork.

Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Wednesday that the flight was the result of Johnson “targeting a busload of immigrants” from Texas.

Immigrants wait to be processed at a US Border Patrol transit center after they cross the border from Mexico in Eagle Pass, TexasMore than 120 immigrants were sent to Chicago. AFP via Getty Images

The flight took off a day after Abbott signed a new law this week that would allow police in Texas to arrest immigrants who cross the border illegally, escalating a series of aggressive measures the state has taken in protest of President Biden’s immigration policies.

“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue to take historic action to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis,” Mahaleris said.

The White House criticized the flight and accused Abbott of using migrants for politics.

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“Once again, Governor Abbott has shown how little respect or regard he has for humanity,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said in a statement. “This latest political stunt only adds to the volume of extreme policies that seek to denigrate and denigrate humanity.”

More than 23,000 immigrants have been bussed to Chicago as part of Abbott’s border mission known as Operation Lone Star, according to the governor’s office.

The multibillion-dollar operation also includes erecting razor wire along the border, installing buoy barriers on the Rio Grande and deploying more officers.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ordered the Biden administration to temporarily halt cutting concertina wire at the border while the legal challenge unfolds.

Seen from an aerial view, Texas National Guard soldiers look on as migrants change into dry clothes after crossing the Rio Grande The flight took off a day after Abbott signed a new law this week that allows police in Texas to arrest immigrants who cross the border illegally. Getty Images

Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the flight to his city.

Concerns have been raised about the living conditions and medical care provided to asylum seekers arriving in Chicago, highlighted by the death last weekend of a 5-year-old boy living in a temporary shelter for immigrants.

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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/