Mirroring recent moves by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a group of immigrants were bused from the Texas border area to Los Angeles and dropped off on Wednesday, June 14, at downtown’s Union Station, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Texas’ small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden’s refusal to secure the border,” Abbott said in a statement. “Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the front lines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said her office was aware of the bus’ arrival and was ready to greet the migrants when they arrived. No migrants appeared to be at the transit hub as of 6 p.m.
The Los Angeles City Council last week approved a motion directing various city departments to take the steps required for Los Angeles to officially become a sanctuary city for immigrants.
According to reports from the scene, about 40 immigrants, including children, were dropped off at Union Center. It was unclear if additional buses might be en route.
The immigrants were taken to St. Anthony’s Croatian Catholic Church in Chinatown, and Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded to ensure none of them had any medical issues. Representatives from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights also responded to offer assistance for the immigrants, who were believed to have been on the bus for nearly 24 hours.
“It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games,” said Bass in a statement.
“Shortly after I took office,” Bass added, “I directed City Departments to begin planning in the event Los Angeles was on the receiving end of a despicable stunt that Republican Governors have grown so fond of. This did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us. Now, it’s time to execute our plan. Our emergency management, police, fire and other departments were able to find out about the incoming arrival while the bus was on its way and were already mobilized along with nonprofit partners before the bus arrived.”
Bass added: “Los Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives. We are a city that seeks to treat all people with dignity and compassion and we will continue to work closely with non-profit organizations, including the L.A. Welcomes Collective, as well as with our County, State and Federal partners.”
In April 2022, Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C. Since then, Abbott has also sent migrants, to Denver, New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. The governor’s office has said that about 20,000 migrants have been transported to cities who have passed measures embracing sanctuary status for immigrants. Abbott’s office has said that such moves have offered “much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities.”
Earlier Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office sent public records requests to DeSantis’ office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management seeking information about the recent transport of two groups of immigrants from Florida to northern California.
Bonta said his office is investigating whether any laws were broken by Florida in shipping the three dozen migrants to Sacramento. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested DeSantis could potentially face kidnapping charges for transporting the migrants to California, although Florida officials have insisted the migrants went to Florida voluntarily and signed documents agreeing to the travel.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Newsom or Bonta about the Texas migrants bused to Los Angeles.
“As the author of California’s Sanctuary State in 2017 and son of an immigrant mother, I can tell you that Governor Abbott’s heartless exploitation of asylum seekers is not shocking and reflects a tremendous lack of leadership,” said Councilmember Kevin de Leon. “Callously trafficking vulnerable human beings around for cheap political points reflects a moral bankruptcy that has no place in politics and Los Angeles will not allow this repugnant display of political opportunism to undermine our commitment to ensuring that every person, regardless of origin, is treated with dignity and respect.”
According to Abbott’s office, Texas has been charting buses to take migrants from Texas to locations including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia, and most recently adding Denver to the list of destinations. Since beginning the busing effort last spring, more than 21,600 migrants have been shipped out of Texas to “these self-declared sanctuary cities,” according to Abbott’s office.
Last week’s City Council action to set in motion sacntuary status for the city was previously OK’d by the council’s Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee and the Public Safety Committee, instructs the city attorney to prepare a draft ordinance within 60 days to prohibit “any city resources, property or personnel from being utilized for any federal immigration enforcement.”
It would also prohibit city cooperation with federal immigration authorities in “execution of their duties” as it pertains to immigration enforcement.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who introduced the motion with council members Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez, thanked “all the advocates, lawyers and organizations” who work to educate and protect the rights of immigrants.
“For many people in Los Angeles who have been advocating for the city to become an official sanctuary city for many years, this is a long overdue process,” Raman said.
According to Raman, L.A. is home to millions of immigrants, and many school children have “at least one immigrant parent.”
“A significant number of residents in Los Angeles live in fear of being apprehended, detained and deported by federal immigration authorities,” Raman said.
Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive in 2019 that offered protections to the immigrant community, but it lacked the permanence of a city law, according to Raman.
The council in a 12-0 vote, with council members Bob Blumenfield and John Lee absent, supported the motion Friday to create an official ordinance and codify existing protections set forth in the executive directive.
Soto-Martínez added that in recent years there has been a lot of “hateful rhetoric” and harmful legislation coming out of Washington, Florida and Texas meant to build distrust between the immigrant community and government.
Last week, DeSantis’ administration said that three dozen migrants whom the state flew from the U.S. southern border to California on private planes all went willingly, disputing allegations by California officials that the individuals were coerced to travel under false pretenses.
The admission of responsibility — five days after the first flight touched down in California’s capital — only served to heighten tensions between DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, his frequent political sparring partner.
Two planes arrived in Sacramento, each carrying asylum-seekers mostly from Colombia and Venezuela. The individuals had been picked up in El Paso, Texas, taken to New Mexico and then put on charter flights to California’s capital of Sacramento, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. He is investigating whether any violations of criminal or civil law occurred.
“What this (motion) means is a clear message to the community that we’re not like them, that the city should be looked as an entity that you can trust, that you can come to and that you can look to for help,” Soto-Martínez said.
This latest wave of politics isn’t the first time DeSantis’ administration has transported migrants from Texas to other states. Last fall, Florida flew 49 Venezuelans to the upscale Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. The move was intended to protest federal immigration policy. DeSantis has said he intends to send migrants who may end up in Florida to states that have immigrant-friendly policies, including California.
The Associated Press, City News Service and Staff Writers Emily Holshouser and Linh Tat contributed to this report.
