Trending
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to bus migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., has amplified the desperate need for comprehensive immigration reform. Since April, Abbott has bused more than 7,200 migrants from Texas to President Joe Biden's backyard. Since Aug. 5, he's bused more than 1,500 migrants to New York City.
Immigration is a federal issue, but it is an acute challenge for border states. And we can't help but notice that Abbott's busing program has had an interesting side effect. It has prompted comments from Mayors Eric Adams (New York) and Muriel Bowser (Washington) that give voice to the pressures border communities face.
"We need help, and we're reaching out to the federal government to tell them that we need help," Adams said just after the first bus arrival.
"The pace of the arriving buses and the volume of arrivals have reached tipping points," Bowser wrote in a July 19 letter to the office of the U.S. secretary of defense. "Our collective response and service efforts have now become overwhelmed."
So, in a narrow sense, props to Abbott for prompting Adams and Bowser to articulate the concerns of border communities, which bear the brunt of a broken immigration system. And if this, in turn, leads to comprehensive immigration reform, then it would be a master stroke.
"Because of President Biden's continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe" Abbott said. "In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city. I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief."
Immigration is a federal issue, but for border communities it's local, and the pressure is intense. The flow of migrants in the Del Rio sector has been off the charts. As Express-News and Houston Chronicle reporter Jeremy Wallace has outlined, since October, more than 376,000 migrant encounters with federal officials have occurred in the Del Rio sector, twice as many as the same point in time last year.
Given shifting global immigration patterns and federal political gridlock, just what is a border governor to do? No wonder Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told us busing immigrants to Washington and New York is "smart politics on Abbott's part" because his GOP base overwhelmingly supports his immigration efforts. And, of course, he has brought broader attention to the issue.
On one level, what Abbott has offered migrants is a pretty good deal. They receive a free bus ride to Washington or New York, where asylum is granted more often than in Texas and organizations are better resourced to provide aid.
As the buses flow to New York City and Washington, D.C., and mayors in those cities echo the words of mayors along the border, as migrants cross in the Del Rio sector, let's all take stock of what words and actions truly lead to the comprehensive reforms so long overdue and desperately needed.
-- San Antonio Express-News