Texas says it plans to send buses of undocumented immigrants to Washington to protest Biden's policies, alarming immigration advocates
- Texas says it will bus migrants to the Capitol in response to the end of Title 42.
- Title 42, was put in place by the Trump administration and allowed US border patrol to deny entry to migrants.
Texas will send undocumented migrants to Washington, DC by bus and plane as a response to President Joe Biden's announcement that a pandemic public health order that has blocked most migrants from entering the US will end next month.
Abbott announced on Wednesday that he's directed the Texas Department of Emergency Management to charter buses and flights to transport migrants who willingly choose to Washington, DC.
The governor said the move was one of several " in a series of aggressive actions by the State of Texas to secure the border," following Biden's decision to end Title 42 expulsions.
"With the end of Title 42 expulsions looming next month, Texas will immediately begin taking unprecedented action to do what no state has done in American history to secure our border," Abbott said. "The new strategies announced today and next week will further strengthen our already robust response to the Biden border disaster, and we will use any and all lawful powers to curtail the flow of drugs, human traffickers, illegal immigrants, weapons, and other contraband into Texas."
Abbott has said migrants have the free choice to be transported to DC. Kate Huddleston, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas told the Dallas Morning News, that Abbott couldn't forcibly send migrants to the Capitol.
"Gov. Abbott does not have the power to forcibly bus migrants or anyone else in the state of Texas out of the state to other portions of the country," Huddleston said. "That is a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment's protection against unreasonable seizures because it is literally forcing people to travel thousands of miles."
The Dallas Morning News reported that groups like the ACLU will be monitoring this effort to ensure that it's truly voluntary for migrants. Huddleston said if people are being coerced or "don't understand" that they have other options and "don't have to get on a bus and go to DC or wherever in the country Governor Abbott wants to send them then that raises all the constitutional issues that I just described."
Title 42 was introduced by the Trump administration at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and allowed US border officials to claim public health as a reason to turn away migrants seeking asylum.
Biden's administration said the policy Title 42 would end on May 23.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the measure is not an "an immigration authority, but rather a public health authority used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect against the spread of communicable disease."
Mayorkas said DHS will continue to expel single adults and families encountered at the Southwest border until May 23, but once the measure is over, DHS will begin processing asylum cases.
"We have put in place a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to manage any potential increase in the number of migrants encountered at our border. We are increasing our capacity to process new arrivals, evaluate asylum requests, and quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection. We will increase personnel and resources as needed and have already redeployed more than 600 law enforcement officers to the border," Mayorkas said.
CNN reported that Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said 900 buses were assembled for transporting migrants.
TDEM spokesperson Seth Christensen told Insider that buses have been dispatched to communities that have expressed concerns about the federal government dropping off migrants and has the capability to send as many as is necessary to fulfill the requests from mayors and county judges."
Christensen did not specify how many buses have been dispatched but said each bus has the capacity to carry up to 40 migrants.