Silke Jasso
Three buses dropped off over a dozen migrants near Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in Washington D.C. as the area experienced record low temperatures before Christmas. Around 140 migrants from countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean Arrived in D. C. from Texas. Madhvi Bahl, Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network organizer, called the incident “awful.”
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Some of the migrants that arrived had to endure the 18-degree weather wearing only T-Shirts, and eventually were given blanks and taken to local shelters in the area, “The D.C. community has been welcoming buses from Texas anytime they’ve come since April. Christmas Eve and freezing cold weather is no different,” Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network volunteer Amy Fischer stated. “We are always here welcoming folks with open arms.”
The White House went on to put the blame on Texas Governor Greg Abbott who sent several busses of migrants to northern cities in the past. But, it has yet to be confirmed if Abbott indeed did send the buses that ended up in Harris’ residence. The White House released a statement of the incident, calling the deployment of the buses a “cruel, dangerous and shameful stunt.”
“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 spokesperson Abdullah Hasan told news outlets.
Buses Of Migrants From Texas Dropped Off Near VP Harris’ Home
“As we have repeatedly said, we are willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions,” Hasan continued. “Like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, but these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger.”
Gov. Abbot has yet to comment on the situation.
Back in September, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had declared a public emergency to provide several services for immigrants after Texas and Arizona began to send migrants over to Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C. “We’re putting in place a framework that would allow us to have a coordinated response with our partners,” Bowser stated.
“This will include a program to meet all buses, and given that most people will move on, our primary focus is to make sure we have a humane, efficient, welcome process that will allow people to move on to their final destination.”Eric Adams, New York City Mayor, also went on to condemn the act back in August. “Some of the families on the bus wanted to go to other locations, and they were not allowed to do so. They were forced on the bus,” Adams told Politico. “Our goal is to immediately find out each family’s needs and give them the assistance they want.”
