Believe it or not, the first bus carrying migrants from Texas border towns to Washington, D.C. has arrived at its destination, blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, Fox News and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed Wednesday.
Abbott, who announced the move last week in response to the administration's plan to end a COVID-era border policy known as Title 42, said that Texas "is bringing the border" to President Biden, since he "refuses to come see the mess he's made."
The bus arrived in D.C. at approximately 8 a.m., carrying migrants who traveled from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, Fox News reports. After deboarding, passengers "checked in with officials and had wristbands they were wearing cut off before being told they could go."
At the heart of Texas' ... unorthodox move is the public health order known as Title 42, a policy that allows the U.S. to rapidly expel migrants at the southern border for pandemic-related reasons. The administration has announced plans to lift the much-maligned measure at the end of May, but not everyone's happy about it. Those against ending the policy — including Abbott – have claimed halting its enforcement will cause an overwhelming surge in migration, citing predictions from officials.
Well, to deal with any resulting influx, Abbott hatched the plan to bus what he called "hordes of illegal immigrants" to the Capitol so President Biden can "more immediately" address their needs.
Whether the governor actually has the legal authority to do this remains to be seen, per Fox News. But the Texas Division of Emergency Management reportedly told the outlet on Monday that the manuever (which White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed as a "publicity stunt") is already working.