Greg Abbott Says Texas Has Bused Out 23,500 Migrants From 'Overrun' Towns

Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter that Texas has sent tens of thousands of migrants to six Democratic-led "sanctuary cities" as part of his "busing strategy," which has faced backlash.

As mounting numbers of migrants have come through the U.S.-Mexico border, Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have been busing and flying migrants to left-leaning states. However, officials in those states and immigrant-rights groups have been assailing the Republican governors, accusing them of using human beings for a "political stunt."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose city has received more than 8,500 migrants from Texas, lashed out at Abbott last month. Adams accused the governor of targeting cities run by Black mayors in his efforts to ship migrants out of his state as a political move against the immigration policies of President Joe Biden's administration.

Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, previously denied Adams' accusations in a statement to Newsweek, saying the mayor was "spreading falsehoods and outright lies."

"[Adams] knows full well these migrants willingly chose to go to New York City, since his staff saw firsthand on their secret trip to Texas last year as migrants raised their hands to go on buses to his sanctuary city," Mahaleris told Newsweek at the time.

Abbott faced further criticism when immigrant-rights group CHIRLA blasted the governor for sending 42 people, including children, on a 23-hour bus ride to Los Angeles, California, without any food or water this month. Abbott defended the decision, saying it was necessary because Lone Star State border towns are "overwhelmed" by migrants due to Biden's "border crisis."

Abbott maintained that migrants already "seek to go to" Los Angeles due to its status as a "sanctuary city."

Newsweek has reached out via email to Abbott's representatives for comment.

Texas has sent undocumented immigrants to Washington, D.C.; New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Denver, Colorado; and Los Angeles, Abbott said Tuesday in the tweet on his personal Twitter account with 1 million followers.

"Texas has bused over 23,500 migrants to sanctuary cities to relieve overrun border towns: Over 10,100 to DC; Over 8,500 to NYC; Over 3,000 to Chicago; Over 1,700 to Philadelphia; Over 200 to Denver; Over 40 to LA. Texas is taking historic action in response to Biden's border crisis," Abbott said in the tweet.

Abbott's "migrant busing strategy," which transports migrants to so-called sanctuary cities, has put a strain on those cities' resources to support the influx of people. Officials in Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago have said their cities have already spent millions to house the migrants that Abbott has bused.

Despite the backlash, the governor said in an online statement that his controversial busing efforts have provided "much-needed relief to Texas' overwhelmed border communities."