Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has responded to a potential policy shift by the Biden administration regarding migrant families. The Biden administration is reportedly contemplating a policy that would require migrant families to stay in Texas during their asylum application process. This potential change, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, might be an effort to reduce the strain on major cities due to the influx of migrants.
In reaction to this potential new policy, Governor Abbott has proposed sending more buses filled with migrants to Washington, D.C. According to a post on X, Abbott said, “This scam was tried years ago & was shot down by a judge.” Abbott added that he would send Biden the same swift justice. He also promised they would be adding even more buses of migrants to Washington, D.C. Abbott’s favorite D.C. stop, Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C., the Naval Observatory.
The proposed policy change would entail federal officials using GPS devices to monitor migrants and collaborating with local entities to provide them shelter while they await their asylum hearings. This change to the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) system, which currently imposes curfews and tracks migrant families via GPS as they move to larger cities, would simplify the process of locating them if their asylum applications are denied.
This policy is similar to one in the late 1980s, requiring asylum seekers to apply at their point of entry and remain there throughout the application process.
Texas has been proactive in devising its own methods to manage and curb the surge of migrants at its border with Mexico, including utilizing the National Guard and marine barriers. Governor Abbott has consistently said that Texas is doing the job that the Biden-Harris administration refuses to do: secure the borders.
Abbott recently revealed that since August 2022, Texas has transported over 35,000 migrants to sanctuary cities. According to Operation Lone Star, Governor Abbott has sent over 500 buses to various sanctuary Cities. Cities include D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles.
New York City has experienced a surge in migration, with over 100,000 people arriving since spring 2022. This has put pressure on the city’s shelter system, schools, and budget. Mayor Eric Adams has said that the crisis “will destroy New York City.” Adams expressed concerns about his city’s challenges in accommodating the influx of migrants. He warned that the situation could devastate New York City and that he does not see an end to this. “The city we knew, we’re about to lose,” he added.
‘We’re getting 10,000 migrants a month,’ Adams said. ‘Now we’re getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they’re going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.”
Officials in New York are worried that the current lack of an exit ramp could lead to a boiling point, as angry protesters clash on the streets of the Five Boroughs and more homeless migrants struggle to find shelter due to limited space.
Lastly, a recent report from The Washington Post highlighted that the U.S. Border Patrol detained a record 91,000 migrants in family groups attempting to cross the border illegally in August. This surpasses the previous record of nearly 84,500 set in May 2019.