Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has sent two buses of migrants from the Lone Star State to Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., in his latest protest against the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
“This morning, two Texas buses of migrants arrived at the Naval Observatory in DC. VP Harris claims our border is ‘secure’ & denies the crisis. We’re sending migrants to her backyard to call on the Biden Administration to do its job & secure the border,” Abbott said on Twitter Thursday.
The governor shared a Fox News article reporting that more than 100 migrants from Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay and Colombia arrived at the Naval Observatory.
Harris said the border was “secure” during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system,” she said. Pressed on the high numbers of immigrants entering the country, Harris added, “We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration.”
Abbott in recent weeks has sent thousands of migrants to Democratic-run cities including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The latest buses to D.C. arrived the day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sent two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) earlier this month declared a public emergency over what the her office said was more than 9,000 migrants bused into the city since Abbott sent the first bus in April.
The migrants have typically been dropped off near the District’s Union Station.
Bowser has requested the activation of the D.C. National Guard to help the city manage the influx of migrants, but the Defense Department has denied the ask.
Abbott has also been feuding with New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) over the issue, and Adams has followed Bowser in requesting federal assistance.
A group of House Democrats from Chicago, D.C. and New York last week asked Congress for $50 million in federal funding to help house and feed the migrants.