This image provided by WJLA shows a migrant family boarding a bus to travel from near the Vice President’s residence to a local church after arriving in Washington on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. A recent immigrant family arrived from Texas near their home on Christmas Eve in record cold weather, according to local organizers in Washington. Texas officials have not confirmed their involvement.
WJLA via AP
Three buses of recent immigrant families arrived near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris from Texas on Christmas Eve in record cold weather.
Texas officials have not confirmed their involvement, but the bus drop-off is consistent with previous actions by border governors to draw attention to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
The bus, which arrived outside the vice president’s official residence late Saturday, was carrying about 110 to 130 people, said SAMU, a relief agency that works with the city of Washington to serve thousands of displaced immigrants. First Response Managing Director Tatiana Labordo said. in the last few months.
Local organizers had expected the bus to arrive on Sunday, but learned the group would arrive early in Washington on Saturday.
Some wore t-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington, according to The Washington Post.
Employees prepared blankets for those who arrived on Christmas Eve and quickly moved to waiting buses for rides to local churches, Laborde said. A local restaurant chain donated dinner and breakfast.
Most of the arrivals were heading for other destinations and were expected to stay in Washington for only a short time.
Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment Sunday morning. His office said last week that Texas had provided buses to Washington, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia for more than 15,000 people since April. said.
Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey are both Republicans, and have been outspoken critics of President Joe Biden for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, where thousands of people try to cross every day to seek asylum. Officials on both sides of the border are seeking urgent help to set up shelters and services for migrants sleeping on the streets.
Republicans argue that Biden and Harris, the government’s nominees for root causes of immigration, eased restrictions, causing more people to leave their countries of origin. Biden ended some policies, but left others enacted by former President Donald Trump. The Donald Trump administration has also tackled a surge in border crossings and at one point separated immigrant families and children as a deterrent.
