(Washington) Three buses from Texas carried migrants to the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve amid record cold weather.
Texas officials have not confirmed their involvement, but the move follows previous actions by border state governors drawing attention to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
The buses that arrived late Saturday in front of the vice president’s residence were carrying between 110 and 130 people, according to Tatiana Laborde, executive director of SAMU First Response, a humanitarian organization that works with the city of Washington to help the thousands of migrants who have been deposited in recent months.
Local organizers had expected the buses to arrive on Sunday, but learned on Saturday that the group would arrive in Washington earlier than expected, Ms.me The borders. Young children were on board.
Some were wearing t-shirts, despite temperatures hovering around -9°C. According to washington postit is the coldest Christmas Eve on record in Washington.
Employees had packed blankets for people who arrived on Christmas Eve and quickly loaded them onto waiting buses to take them to an area church, Ms.me The borders. A local restaurant chain donated meals.
Most of the arrivals were heading for other destinations and were only expected to stay in Washington briefly.
Governor Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment Sunday morning. His office said last week that Texas had offered bus rides to more than 15,000 people since April to Washington, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Mr Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, both Republicans, strongly criticize President Joe Biden for his handling of the US-Mexico border, where thousands of people try to cross every day, often to seek asylum. Authorities on both sides of the border are seeking emergency assistance to set up shelters and services for migrants, some of whom are sleeping rough.
Republicans argue that Mr. Biden and Mr. Harris, designated as the administration’s point person on the root causes of migration, eased restrictions that prompted many people to leave their home countries.
Mr. Biden ended some policies but kept others adopted by former President Donald Trump, whose administration has also faced spikes in border crossing cases and the separation of families from migrants, for deterrence purposes.
White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan called the process a “cruel, dangerous and shameful blow”.
“As we’ve said repeatedly, we’re ready to work with anyone — Republican or Democrat — on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures that President Biden has sent to Congress. on his first day in office, but these political games achieve nothing and only put lives at risk,” Hasan said in a statement on Sunday.