Texas sends its first immigrant bus to Los Angeles

The Texas State government sent its first busload of immigrants back to Los Angeles on Wednesday. According to a statement from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the bus dropped off the group of immigrants at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Abbott describes it as a measure to alleviate immigration pressure on the state of Texas.

"Small Texas border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden's refusal to secure the border," Greg Abbott said in the statement on Wednesday. In a Twitter post, Abbott said that his administration plans to continue sending immigrant buses to so-called "sanctuary" cities.

According to local media reports, approximately 40 immigrants were taken to downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday. This number includes eight minors, according to the communications officers of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights-Los Angeles), a Californian non-profit that takes in immigrants in LA. The group was taken in by a church next to Union Station.

According to local media reports, the immigrants are Venezuelan, Guatemalan and Honduran. One of the Guatemalan immigrants had a pending court date in New York.

At the time of the arrival of the group of immigrants, LA Mayor Karen Bass was in Washington D.C., but she said in a statement that what happened did not "catch them off guard." Along with her, the political class of Los Angeles, or even California, condemned Governor Abbott's actions.

Migratory pressure distribution

Since the state of Texas began sending migrants to sanctuary cities, some 21,600 immigrants have been transported. Los Angeles was joined on Wednesday by other major Democratic cities such as New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia and Denver.

The Democratic governors who named their cities "sanctuaries" did not remain quiet. Among them, Eric Adams spoke out against Abbott's measures and accused him of wanting to sink black-governed cities. In the midst of the immigration crisis governed by Republicans.

In Florida, Governor DeSantis took after Abbott and also sent some immigrant flights headed for California, which angered Newsom, who threatened to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida.