WASHINGTON, April 13 (EFE) – A bus carrying up to a dozen undocumented asylum seekers arrived in Washington on Wednesday, sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s immigration policy.
Although Abbott referred to them as “illegal migrants,” the White House said they are people who are considering an asylum application in the United States and are therefore “free” to move around the country.
Upon arrival, the car was parked in front of the headquarters of the ultraconservative channel Fox News, a few steps from the train station in the US capital, which broadcast live the moment the migrants got off the bus.
In a statement, Abbott said the migrants are from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, but did not specify the exact number or whether they got into the car voluntarily.
According to local media, several migrants from Washington are going to travel to other cities in the country to meet relatives or acquaintances.
The Texas governor, known for his ultra-conservative positions and calling for re-election in the upcoming November election, also said there was another bus on the capital’s road.
He explained that he had taken this measure “in response” to the Biden government’s decision to repeal the title 42 next May, a policy used to expel undocumented immigrants from the country under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In her daily press conference, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki assured that migrants on the bus are openly seeking asylum at the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), so “they are free.”
“It’s good that Texas is helping them reach their final destination while they wait for the outcome of immigration procedures. “All of them are in the process of migration,” Psaki said ironically.
The spokesman called Abbott’s maneuvers a “public ploy” but confirmed that the White House had no contact with undocumented immigrants or the organizations that served them.
The right to apply for asylum is legal under U.S. law at a time when the White House is concerned that the end of Title 42 will have a “shipping effect” and a wave of immigration to the United States.
For its part, the Migrant Support Association of America’s Voice called the Texas size a “cheap and brutal political ploy” and condemned that “the only thing that matters” to Republicans like Abbott is to do a “show” for FoxNews.
The governor of Texas announced last week that he intended to send buses with undocumented immigrants up the Capitol stairs to Washington in response to the completion of the title 42 bid.
He also ordered increased inspections of trucks across the Mexican border, which have been criticized by the Mexican government and the White House for causing delays in commercial crossing.
Source: El Diario
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