Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial program of busing migrants to what he called “sanctuary cities” across the country has come under scrutiny as the number of migrants crossing the border has decreased in recent months.
Abbott touted the program during his speech at the Republican National Convention last month, and was met with loud cheers of approval as he pledged to continue sending migrants to New York and other cities until the border is “secured.”
He claimed it was part of his ongoing efforts to address what he calls the “border crisis,” but recent reports suggest that the flow of buses has slowed due to a steep decline in the number of migrants, reported NBC News.
According to local officials and migrant shelter operators in Texas, the number has dropped dramatically, from a record 300,000 crossing the border in December to just 84,000 in June, the lowest monthly total since President Biden took office.
Dozens of migrants/immigrants families are seen arriving from Texas at the Port Authority Bus Terminal early Wednesday September 6, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
This decrease has resulted in fewer buses being sent out of Texas, with some cities reporting they haven’t gotten any buses from Texas since January.
Despite the slowdown, Abbott’s spokesperson, Andrew Maheris, attributed the drop in migrants to the success of Texas’s border security efforts, particularly the $11 billion Operation Lone Star initiative.
“Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 85% thanks to our historic border mission,” Maheris said.
Operation Lone Star, however, has been mired in legal challenges as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Texas’s placement of razor wire along the Rio Grande section of the border earlier this year.
In addition, most arrests involving migrants at the border have been related to minor offenses and very few have led to serious drug or weapons charges, reported the ACLU of Texas.
Sarah Cruz, a policy and advocacy strategist for the organization, has criticized the program as unconstitutional and dangerous, warning that conflating immigration with crime and drug trafficking is “as false as it is inflammatory and dangerous to our communities.”
