Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) dropped the first bus of migrants in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, adding a new city to the stunt he and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been gleefully using to score political points all at the expense of vulnerable migrants.
In this case, Abbott’s claimed justification was the end of Title 42, the public health rule that allowed authorities to expel migrants at the border during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns,” Abbott said in a news release.
The governor’s office announced that the first group of migrants sent to Denver arrived Thursday afternoon and were dropped off near Civic Center Park, located downtown.
The bussing gambit has long been a way for Abbott to solicit coverage from Fox News and other friendly outlets. But he found fresh rhetorical justification for it as Title 42 came to an end on May 11. Abbott sent two buses to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence last week, one of his favorite places to drop off migrants that he uses as political pawns.
The Denver bus comes as the Texas governor vowed he would continue busing migrants to Democratic cities earlier this month.
“Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program,” Abbott said in early May.
For months now, Texas has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the busing program, sending more than 19,000 migrants to Democratic cities like Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. Last year, Abbott even dropped off migrants in the freezing cold in Washington on Christmas Eve outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ home.
DeSantis has took Abbott’s border-state stunt several steps further.
In September 2022, he one-upped Abbott when he flew migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard — promising them aid — and dropped them on the island without notifying local authorities. Recent reports indicate he’s eager to do it again as he announces his run for president.
