The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, announced this Wednesday a series of measures to face the possible massive arrival of undocumented immigrants at the southern border, in response to the announcement that the Biden Administration will end the policy of expedited deportations protected by Title 42. .
The Republican president said that Texas would provide some
900 buses for the transfer of migrants intercepted at the border to the country's capital
, where he stated that the federal government should take care of them.
[Hundreds of Ukrainian migrants gather in Tijuana]
“To help local officials in communities that are being overwhelmed by the hordes of illegal immigrants the Biden Administration lets into the country, Texas is chartering buses to send these migrants to Washington DC,” Abbott said.
“We will send them to Capitol Hill, where the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people it is allowing to cross our border.”
Abbott's announcement came in response to fears among conservative groups and supporters of former President Donald Trump that the end of Title 42, the main policy that restricted asylum, will lead to an uptick in border crossings by migrants who seek refuge in the country.
A migrant girl and her mother from Haiti prepare to board a bus in San Antonio, Texas, after being released from federal government custody, on September 22, 2021. Julio Cortez / AP
The Border Patrol estimates that there could be
up to 18,000 migrants intercepted per day after May 23
, when this policy that was implemented during the Trump Administration as a health measure to contain the coronavirus pandemic will end.
Last week, the average daily number of apprehensions on the southern border was 7,100 migrants.
[The border prepares for a new wave of migration]
Abbott has made border security one of his top concerns as he seeks re-election as governor in the November election.
In June of last year, he announced that he would deploy the National Guard and agents from the Texas Department of Public Safety along the border to reduce the flow of undocumented people, in what he called Operation Lone Star.
As part of this controversial operation announced last summer, Abbott also sought to jail migrants for trespassing on private property while crossing the border from Mexico, although a judge ruled it unconstitutional in January.
They describe a shelter for migrant minors in Texas as hell: "It makes me sad because they suffer"
April 5, 202201:42
Abbott announced other measures in the same direction this Wednesday, including increased patrols by the National Guard, lighting points where migrants are known to cross, as well as placing barriers to cut them off, both in the Rio Grande and on its banks, where they intend to install barbed wire.
In addition, he announced that the inspections of the vehicles that cross from Mexico to Texas through the official ports of entry will be more detailed and exhaustive, with the express objective of increasing the safety of drivers in Texas
and avoiding tragic accidents in which migrants they lose their lives
when traveling crammed into the vans of human traffickers.