Texas To Bus Migrants From Border To D.C., Abbott Says

WESLACO, TX — Texas will begin transporting migrants who have been processed and released from federal custody to Washington, D.C., Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced at a news conference Wednesday in Weslaco.

Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter flights and buses for this purpose. The directive is in reaction to the Biden administration's decision to lift Title 42, a Trump administration policy that allows border agents to turn back migrants and asylum seekers at the border to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Title 42 is to end May 23.

Under the state directive, migrants must volunteer to be transported and show documentation from the Department of Homeland Security, according to a news release. Local officials also can notify the Division of Emergency Management of federal drop-off locations of migrants in their areas.

Abbott took several jabs at the Biden administration in the news conference, and he indicated the policy was an attempt to push the issue to the doorstep of the federal government.

"We are sending [migrants] to the United States capital, where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people they are allowing to come across our border," Abbott said.

Busing migrants to the nation's capital is part of a series of "unprecedented actions" at the border Abbott announced to mitigate what he described as "catastrophes caused by Biden's open-border policies."

The Texas Department of Public Safety will immediately begin enhanced safety inspections of cars and commercial vehicles at ports of entry in Texas. The inspections will take place in Texas jurisdiction, not at the international bridge, according to DPS Director Steven McCraw.

"We're going to ensure every commercial vehicle that enters the state of Texas is safe," said McCraw.

McCraw said the inspections weren't "subterfuge" and that they were routine safety inspections.

Additional actions Abbott announced include the deployment of boat blockades in the Rio Grande River and razor wire at low-water crossings and high traffic locations.

The Texas National Guard will begin mass migration rehearsals Thursday to prepare for what officials believe will be an influx of traffic at the border once Title 42 is rescinded, Abbott said.

The Department of Homeland Security expects around 18,000 arrests at the border per day when Title 42 restrictions are lifted. Migrants have been turned away more than 1.7 million times since the policy was enacted in March 2020, according to DHS.

Abbott also indicated more border measures would be announced next week.

The measures also come as former Trump administration officials have put pressure on Abbott and other border state governors to be tougher on illegal immigration.

Their plan involves a novel interpretation of the U.S. Constitution to have the National Guard or state police forcibly send migrants to Mexico, without regard to immigration laws and law enforcement procedures, according to The Associated Press. Border enforcement has always been a federal responsibility, and in Texas, state leaders have not been pushing for such a move.

Tom Homan, the former acting director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Donald Trump, told an audience at the Border Security Expo in San Antonio last week that he had spoken with Abbott about the idea.

"We’ve had discussions with his attorneys in his office, 'Is there a way to use this clause within the Constitution where it talks about invasion?'" Homan said at the event.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.