Several Hispanic families, many with young children, were left stranded on the streets of Washington amid a wave of arctic cold.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, determined to ruin the Christmas vacation for the Democratic administration in Washington, opted last Saturday to send 100 immigrants to the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. It marks the latest installment in an increasingly tense battle between the governors of the southern Republican states and the Joe Biden administration over intensifying border controls with Mexico as the White House seeks to repeal Title 42 issued by Donald Trump and allowing immediate evictions.
After a two-day bus trip, some 130 immigrant asylum seekers from Central and South America, many with families with children dressed in sweatshirts and shorts, were left on the streets of Washington late on Christmas Eve. Immigrant aid groups, notified of their arrival, awaited them with blankets and hot drinks in temperatures of eight degrees below zero. They were transported to a church in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where they were provided with warm clothing, supplies, and shelter.
In a statement to the Washington Post newspaper, the White House condemned the move, noting that Abbott failed to coordinate with federal or local authorities before leaving the immigrants out in the cold. For its part, the Texas governor’s office had not confirmed the shipment of the last buses, although they had been introduced into the vehicles by Texan officials.
Last month, Abbott said the strategy brought relief to the state’s border communities, warning that if Title 42 is allowed to expire, the number of people entering the US illegally “will only increase.” It had previously sent buses to the headquarters of the Naval Observatory, which oversees immigration policy.
In addition, eight days ago, Governor Abbott demanded that President Biden “end the lie that the border is secure,” urging him to immediately deploy federal resources to “address serious issues before more innocent lives are lost.” to go”. Since mid-April, Texas has brought thousands of immigrants to Washington, New York and Chicago. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, also Republicans, have done the same with Democratic-led cities.
Amy Fischer, a member of the Red de Ayuda Mutual de Solidaridad con Migrantes organization, denounced the far-right governors for “their cruelty” in orchestrating the transfer of immigrants for political purposes. For her part, Tatiana Laborde, of the Samu First Response aid group, said they have been receiving immigrants since April and nine buses arrived in Washington just last week. According to her, there is an increase in Ecuadorians and Colombians, in contrast to the high number of Venezuelans who arrived earlier.
Triggered by a potential revocation of Title 42, thousands of immigrants crossed the southern border last week in an odyssey that ultimately left them in makeshift open-air camps on the streets of El Paso city amid the advance of an arctic storm with freezing temperatures. On Friday, Customs and Border Protection reported that 233,740 people were detained in November, the highest number ever recorded in that month. About 35% came from Cuba and Nicaragua, according to the border agency report. Aid groups and officials in the border city of El Paso and other cities in the state of Texas are struggling to help the huge number of immigrants entering the country. seeking asylum. El Paso even declared a state of emergency.
Source: La Verdad
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