Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) blasted New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) for appearing to suggest the governor is a coward for sending migrants by bus to Washington, D.C.
Abbott issued the searing response in a press release and posted to Twitter on Friday.
“Mayor Adams’ problem is not with Texas. It is with President Biden’s refusal to stop this border crisis and secure our southern border,” Abbott wrote.
“President Biden’s open border policies created this ongoing humanitarian crisis, allowing record-high illegal crossings and deadly drugs like fentanyl to flood into our state. A crisis that has overrun and overwhelmed our border towns and communities across our state, whose requests for help have gone ignored and unanswered by the Biden Administration,” he added.
Mayor Adams should address his frustration w/ migrants to the root cause: Joe Biden.
I launched our border busing mission in April to help our local communities.
Biden has flown planeloads of migrants to NY.
The problem is not Texas. It's Biden's REFUSAL to secure our border. pic.twitter.com/cPGgoL8n9B
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 22, 2022
Abbott argued that his bus program was designed to send migrants to the nation’s capital, not to New York City. Instead, the Biden administration has authorized flights of migrants to Adams’ state.
“I launched our border busing mission back in April to help our local partners, busing over 5,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. so far. Texas has not bused any migrants to New York,” Abbott noted. “Instead, it is President Biden who has flown planeloads of migrants to New York. Mayor Adams should address his frustration with migrants to the root cause: Joe Biden.”
Adams attacked both Abbott and Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) over their migrant busing programs during a news conference from City Hall on Thursday.
“Our country is home of the free, land of the brave,” Adams said, according to the New York Post. “We do not become cowards and send people away who are looking for help.”
Adams also claimed the mass influx of migrants coming to New York is putting a strain on the city he leads.
“We already have an overburdened shelter system. So now we’re talking about, as you stated, food, clothing, schools,” Adams said. “This is going to impact our schools because we do not turn away individuals because they’re undocumented, need translation services. There’s just a whole host of things that this is going to produce. And that’s why we need help in getting this done and we need to write coordination to make it happen.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams: Influx of illegal aliens is “a real burden” on NYC resources. pic.twitter.com/5hc7x5YzQr
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) July 20, 2022
Adams was not alone in blaming Abbott for the surge in migrants. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” earlier this month to suggest the capital’s homeless shelters were filling up due to migrants bused from Texas and Arizona.
“We have for sure called on the federal government to work across state lines to prevent people from really being tricked into getting on buses. We think they’re largely asylum seekers who are going to final destinations that are not Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said.
“I worked with the White House to make sure that FEMA provided a grant to a local organization that is providing services to folks. But, I fear that they’re being tricked into nationwide bus trips when their final destinations are places all over the United States of America,” she added.