Top U.S. border official says busing migrants out of Texas complicates federal officials' jobs

by Emily Hernandez, Texas Tribune


The top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official on Thursday criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial new plan to bus migrants to Washington, D.C., saying he isn’t properly communicating with the federal agency or border communities.

“We all have a shared [interest] in maintaining safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes, and assistance from the state should be carefully coordinated with us," CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement.

Abbott unveiled his plan to bus and fly migrants to the nation’s capital at a press conference last week in response to President Joe Biden’s reversal of Title 42, a Trump-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to refuse entry to migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Abbott said sending migrants to Washington would allow the Biden administration “to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border."

The first bus of migrants arrived in the capital Wednesday. Volunteers with Catholic Charities escorted the migrants off the bus and helped coordinate their next moves after hearing about the bus’ arrival. Many of the migrants had family in the area and left soon after departing the bus, according to John Enzler, president and CEO of Catholic Charities and a volunteer.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/14/texas-migrants-buses-washington-dc/