Immigration authorities accuse Republicans of lying to migrants and attracting more to the US with their bus trips

By Julia Ainsley and Didi Martinez -

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus blamed Republican governors for "luring" more migrants into the United States by promising them free bus rides from the border to sanctuary cities like New York, Washington DC and Chicago.

In an interview with journalist José Díaz-Balart on MSNBC, the main federal official on the border accused

of "lying" to asylum seekers about the opportunities in these cities.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also criticized Republican governors for sending migrants to other cities in another interview with Díaz-Balart on MSNBC.

“When a governor acts unilaterally, and refuses to coordinate with other officials, that is when problems arise.

And that is when we deplore political maneuvering when it comes to the lives of vulnerable people,” Mayorkas emphasized. 

A bus with migrants in New York on September 4.Getty Images

Magnus and Mayorkas spoke from El Paso, where Border Patrol released nearly 1,300 migrants onto the streets between Sept. 7 and Sept. 15 because shelters are full.

Since August 23, the Democratic mayor of the city has sent more than 3,400 migrants by bus to cities such as Chicago and New York under the initiative promoted by the Texas governor, Republican Greg Abbott.

[Florida company that moved migrants donated money to Republicans and has ties to DeSantis' immigration czar]

“People across the country need to know this is not chaos

,” Magnus said, however, “people who come into our custody are processed, and many are seeking asylum, so if some are released into the country, they are doing it legally and they have a date to appear" before an immigration court.

New York prepares humanitarian aid centers to receive migrants sent by Texas

Sept.

22, 202200:35

He explained that a large proportion of the migrants who cross the border come from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, countries that refuse to accept their citizens if the United States deports them. 

[They investigate the sending of migrants to Martha's Vineyard]

In the last year, the number of Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Cubans crossing the border from Mexico has increased by 175%, according to data from the Office of Customs and Border Protection. 

In El Paso, daily border encounters with immigrants have averaged 1,500 a day since Sept. 1, with an average of 618 coming from Venezuela, according to El Paso Sector Customs and Border Protection data.

El Paso is overwhelmed by the average arrival of 1,500 migrants a day.

They warn of a collapse

Sept.

22, 202201:50

The mayor of El Paso, Democrat Oscar Leeser, said that the city's shelters are full to justify sending immigrants on buses, and asked the federal government for help.

He noted that only about 50% of migrants arriving from Venezuela have relatives who can sponsor them in the United States, compared to 95% of Central Americans who know someone they could stay with while they wait for their immigration hearings. 

[Migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard by plane claim they were tricked by a mysterious woman they call Perla]

Unlike Republican governors, Leeser is notifying cities that will receive migrants from El Paso, helping to marshal the resources needed to serve them. 

Greg Abbott has sent more than 11,000 immigrants to cities run by Democrats

Sept.

17, 202200:18

"They don't have money to travel,"

explained the mayor, who sees providing free transportation to migrants as a humanitarian mission.

“We want to make sure that we take people and treat them the way you want to be treated,” he added.

Jenny Espinoza recently arrived in El Paso from Venezuela and was taken through the city to a nearby motel where 100 other migrants were staying overnight.

She claimed that she only had the clothes she was wearing and that she did not know how to get food. 

That same night, one of her roommates told her in a WhatsApp message that they were going to go to bed hungry, since not enough food had been distributed among the migrants.

“Some people in a car brought food, but when we passed there was nothing left for us,” he wrote at 10:21 p.m.