TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT has altered the U.S. political landscape on immigration by busing migrants from Texas to Democratic-led sanctuary cities.
In 2022 the Republican began sending migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to cities that protect undocumented peoples from deportation, amid an influx arriving to the southern frontier. There were more than 2.4 million encounters between migrants and border control officers at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The governor has faced substantial backlash over the policy, as critics accuse him of using migrants as political pawns. The White House has slammed it as a “cruel, dangerous and shameful stunt.” Abbott, however, has defended the move as necessary, pointing to Texas’ border towns becoming overwhelmed with migrants, and that sanctuary cities should be prepared
