Two busloads of immigrants arrived at Kamala Harris ' residence at the Naval Observatory (Washington D.C.) on Thursday. Between 75 and 100 immigrants departed from Del Rio, Texas, and showed up at the vice president's house at around 7 a.m. The buses were sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in response to Biden's immigration policy.
As one of the immigrants reported to Fox News most of them come from Venezuela, escaping the violence in their country.
Home delivery . Two buses of illegal immigrants were sent to VP Kamala Harris' house courtesy of TEXAS Governor Abbott. Do you want illegal immigration? We leave it at your doorstep pic.twitter.com/7Qn4wHEDIO
- Roberto San Martín (@rocamadur) September 15, 2022
The arrival of the immigrants came a few days after the vice-president assured that the border "is secure". Despite the wave of illegal immigration that crosses the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis and the numerous denunciations and declarations of invasion that are coming from the southern states.
State of emergency in Illinois
For his part, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker declared a state of emergency after a wave of immigrants arrived in the state also from Texas. Now, the Democratic leader is asking for help in dealing with the situation.
Pritzker activated 75 members of the Illinois National Guard with the goal of securing all state resources for asylum seekers in Chicago:
I request enables the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and other state agencies, in close coordination with the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other local governments, to ensure the individuals and families receive the assistance they need. This includes transport, emergency shelter and housing, food, health screenings, medical assessments, treatments, and other necessary care and services.
It is not the first city to declare a state of emergency. The Mayor of Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser declared the order following the arrival of thousands of immigrants entering the nation's capital. This decision has also been criticized by the southern states, which have been warning for months about the real emergency in their territories.
Criticism of Abbott
Through social media, Pritzker criticized Abbott for allegedly not giving notice of the busing: "The governor of the state of Texas is choosing not to notify us when he is sending busloads of families. We don't know how many are children or what they need when they arrive."
The Governor of the state of Texas is choosing not to notify us when he is sending busloads of families - we don't know how many are children or what they need before they arrive.
- Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 14, 2022
In addition, the Illinois governor took aim at the alleged contempt that immigrants suffer in Texas:
Let me be clear: while other states may be treating these vulnerable families like pawns, here in Illinois, we are treating them like people.
The answer from Texas
In early September, Greg Abbott announced busloads of immigrants to Chicago (after previously doing so with New York and Washington D.C.) in response to Biden's immigration policies. These three "sanctuary cities" operate outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since Biden has been president, nearly five million immigrants have crossed the southern border and 750 have lost their lives trying to reach the United States.
Following criticism from Illinois, Abbott calls for "immigration policy enforcement" and called both Pritzker and Lightfoot "hypocrites" for moving immigrants to Republican cities.
