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The
Republican Abbott, a vocal critic of Biden administration
immigration policies, has not acknowledged the Christmas Eve
drop and his office has not claimed responsibility. President
Joe Biden is a Democrat.
An estimated 110 to 130 migrants seeking asylum in the United
States, many of them families with children, were placed on
buses by Texas officials, immigrant aid groups said on Sunday
after the migrants arrived in the U.S. capital.
"Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in
below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without
coordinating with any Federal or local authorities," White House
spokesman Abdullah Hasan said in a statement.
"The political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in
danger," Hasan added.
Texas has bused thousands of migrants to Washington, New York
City and Chicago, in what some critics have labeled a stunt amid
a national debate over the high levels of immigrant arrivals
along the U.S. southern border.
Abbott has said previously his state was purposefully busing
migrants to sanctuary cities, where law enforcement is
discouraged from deporting immigrants.
Hasan said the Biden administration was willing to work with
Democrats and Republicans on solutions to the migrant issue.
Amy Fischer, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid
Network, told NPR the migrants were immediately transferred onto
city-provided buses in Washington and moved to a church that
distributed hot food and clothes.
Claudia Tristán, a co-organiser with the same group, told
Reuters on Monday that nearly all the migrants dropped near the
vice president's home were already on their way to relatives and
friends in the United States.
In a letter to Biden on Dec. 20, Abbott said the state was
overburdened with thousands of men, women and children crossing
into Texas everyday who risk freezing to death on city streets.
Hidalgo County, Texas, Judge Richard Cortez on Monday told CNN
that localities in Texas like his were overwhelmed by the number
of immigrants and could not accommodate them all.
"Busing immigrants out of this area in a way helps us... but
it's not a solution to the problem," said Cortez, whose county
borders Mexico.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh, Additional
reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Howard Goller)
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