Texas will bus illegal immigrants caught entering the state to Washington, D.C., Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced on Wednesday.
During a press conference, Abbott announced several new actions his administration is taking to expand Operation Lone Star, a state government effort to curb illegal immigration into the state from Mexico.
Abbott announced new actions as the Biden administration plans to lift Title 42, a Trump-era border policy that has allowed the United States, on the basis of COVID-19, to stop migrants from entering the country. The Biden administration plans to officially scrap the policy in late May and is preparing for an influx of immigrants.
“With the Biden administration ending Title 42 expulsions in May, Texas will be taking its own unprecedented actions this month to do what no state in America has ever done in the history of this country to better secure our state, as well as our nation,” Abbott said.
One of the additional actions being taken, Abbott said, will be charter buses hired by the state to transport illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C.
“To help local officials whose communities are being overwhelmed with hordes of illegal immigrants who are being dropped off by the Biden administration, Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants who have been dropped off by the Biden administration to Washington, D.C.,” Abbott announced. “We are sending them to the United States capital where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.”
Abbott also announced “enhanced public safety inspection of vehicles” crossing from Mexico into Texas at ports of entry. The new policy will “dramatically slow traffic from Mexico into Texas,” Abbott admitted, but the governor said the new process is necessary to curb cartel traffic flowing from Mexico into Texas.
“Those two strategies are in addition to announcing the following actions to further deter illegal immigrants, including deploying boat blockades at appropriate regions in the Rio Grande River, deploying razor wire at low-water crossings in high traffic areas, creating container blockades to drive people away from low water crossings,” Abbott said.
The governor added that he will announce additional measures next week.
Abbott’s announcement comes after several GOP-controlled states filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its plans to scrap Title 42.
“Missouri, Arizona, and Louisiana filed suit against the Biden Administration for rescinding Title 42 amid one of the worst border crises in this country’s history. Title 42 is a crucial tool for controlling the influx of illegal aliens at our Southern border,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement on Monday.
“Time and again, the Biden Administration has failed to act to secure our Southern border and have terminated successful programs like Title 42 and the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy. Missouri has been a leader in pushing back on the Biden Administration’s failure at the border, and we filed suit against the cancellation of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy and also filed suit to force the Biden Administration to build the Southwest border wall. If the Biden Administration won’t take proactive steps to secure our border and protect our citizenry, we certainly will,” he added.