A bus carrying immigrants left Texas Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Philadelphia, the latest city Gov. Greg Abbott targeted as a drop-off point for illegal immigrants in an effort to draw attention to the state’s border policies. Biden administration.
Abbott has already sent hundreds of buses carrying illegal immigrants to Chicago, New York City and Washington DC in recent months.
“Since April, Texas’ busing strategy has successfully provided much-needed relief to our border communities overwhelmed by the historic influx of migrants caused by President Biden’s reckless open border policies,” Abbott said in a statement.
CBP REPORTS RECORD TOTAL OF 230,000 MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT THE US BORDER IN OCTOBER
“Until the Biden Administration does its job and provides Texans and the American people with sustainable border security, Texas will continue to do more than any state in the nation’s history to defend against invasion along the border, including adding more sanctuary cities like Philadelphia as delivery locations for our transportation strategy,” he added.
The migrants will be dropped off at the William H. Gray III 30th Street station in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, Abbott said.
“Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has long celebrated and fought for sanctuary city status, making the city an ideal addition to Texas’ list of drop-off locations,” said a news release from the governor’s office.
The Philadelphia-bound bus announcement came a day after Abbott’s office told Fox News Digital there were no plans to send immigrants to the City of Brotherly Love.
A migrant bus arrived in Washington, DC, near the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris, on Thursday, October 6, 2022. Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent hundreds of migrant buses to sanctuary cities to draw attention to the border policies of the Biden administration. .
(Fox News Channel)
“Currently, we only transport immigrants to Washington, DC, New York City and Chicago,” an Abbott spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Fox News Digital has contacted Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney’s office.
Texas has traveled by bus nearly 8,300 migrants to Washington, DC, more than 3,500 migrants to New York City, and more than 1,100 migrants to Chicago so far this year.
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The bus operation began as a way to provide relief to overwhelmed border communities in Texas that have faced the brunt of record numbers of immigrants entering the United States, Abbott said.
In fiscal year 2022, there were more than 2.3 million migrant encounters at the southern border.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.