US: White House blasts Texas governor for Christmas Eve migrant drop

The White House blasted Texas Governor Greg Abbott over the busloads of migrants that were dropped off in Washington DC close to the home of vice president Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve. The White House said the Republican governor was endangering lives by sending the migrants to the capital without even coordinating with federal and local officials.

The White House on Monday issued a statement criticizing Abbott for dropping off migrants from the southwest border in Texas to Washington on Christmas Eve. Immigrant aid groups said Sunday that Texas officials placed 110 to 130 migrants, many of which are families with children, on buses. Abbott’s office has not acknowledged the migrant drop nor claimed responsibility.

“Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below-freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities,” said White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan in the statement. “The political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger.”

Hasan added that the Biden administration was willing to work with both Democrats and Republicans to solve the immigration issue.

Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network organizer Amy Fischer told NPR the migrants that were bused were transferred to city-provided buses in Washington and moved to a church that provides hot food and clothes. The co-organizer Claudia Tristan told Reuters on Monday that nearly all the migrants dropped near Harris’s residence were on their way to relatives and friends already residing in the country.

Texas has bused thousands of migrants to Washington, New York City, and Chicago. Critics said the busing was a stunt by Abbott, who has criticized the Democratic Biden administration’s immigration policies, at a time of debate over the volume of migrants arriving at the southern border looking to enter the United States. Abbott previously said migrants are being brought to sanctuary cities where law enforcement is discouraged from deporting migrants.

On the same day, the White House said that President Joe Biden authorized federal support for New York state following a blizzard that left at least 27 people dead in Buffalo and tens of thousands of residents without power.