White House condemns migrant buses sent out of Texas

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A refugee from Central America gets off the bus sent by Texas in Washington

Photo: TOM BRENNER / REUTERS

Buses carrying migrants from Latin America are currently arriving in Washington several times a week.

They are sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Now the White House has sharply criticized the conservative Republican for his action.

"He's using politics for personal gain and sending these desperate migrants here," said Karine Jean-Pierre, spokeswoman for US President Joe Biden.

Jean-Pierre said there is a statutory process for distributing migrants crossing the southern US border.

But Abbott decided to make political capital out of the situation.

In the dispute over US refugee policy, Abbott had sent the refugees by bus to the liberal strongholds of New York and Washington in order, in his own words, to protest against the US government's "open borders policy".

Tug of war over »Title 42«

Biden had repealed the so-called “Title 42”, which had allowed Texas border guards to send back migrants who were apprehended without any form of procedure – allegedly to protect the US population from the corona virus.

A court blocked Biden's decision, but under the new US President it has become more difficult for Texans to send migrants back to Mexico.

In addition to Jean-Pierre, New York Mayor Eric Adams also hit out at Texas Governor Abbott: "It's unimaginable what the governor of Texas did when you think of this country - a country that has always been open to those who... fleeing persecution and other unreasonable, intolerable conditions.” Adams stressed that New York will take the people in and take care of them.

The number of illegal border crossings from Mexico to the United States has been at a very high level in recent months. Abbott, who is on the election campaign, blames Biden's migration policies.

The Republican is up against Democrat Beto O'Rourke for governor in November.

O'Rourke is well behind Abbott in conservative Texas, but has recently caught up in the polls.

mrc/dpa