As critics pointed out the hypocrisy on the left, El Paso, Texas’ Democratic mayor on Sunday defended his decision to send his own buses of migrants to New York City with Mayor Eric Adams’ approval, claiming his intention is to “help them get to their destination.”
“The people are not coming to El Paso, they’re coming to America, and that’s something that’s really important,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
Before they “will take them and help them reach to their goal,” he claimed that authorities in El Paso speak with migrants and ask them where they want to go.
Democrat El Paso, Texas Mayor Oscar Leeser says between 1,500 and 2,000 illegal immigrants flood into the city EVERY DAY — and “the numbers have been continuing to increase.” pic.twitter.com/1kvEqUjO46
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 18, 2022
“That’s been really important that we don’t send anyone where they don’t want to go,” he added “We make sure we help them.”
More than 1,000 migrants have been arriving in El Paso daily. Leeser said that as many as 2,000 arrived on Friday.
Since August 23 at least 1,135 migrants have been transported to New York on 28 buses by the city, which, like Arizona, supplies passenger rosters and other data.
He claimed that one notable distinction between the migrants coming to El Paso was that many of the Venezuelan migrants had neither sponsors in the United States who could assist them nor any available funds.
“We have about 50 percent of the people today that do not have a sponsor, they don’t have money. So we’re helping and working to get them to where they want to go.”
Since President Joe Biden assumed office and rescinded numerous key elements of former President Donald Trump’s border security policy, an estimated 2 million illegal immigrants have poured into the country. To draw attention to the border issue, Abbott and fellow Republican governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Doug Ducey of Arizona have begun sending illegal immigrants to blue towns and states.
Last month, Abbott said, “President Biden’s inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans — and Americans — at risk and is overwhelming our communities, to continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C., and New York City as an additional drop-off location.”
However, nearly 30 buses full of undocumented immigrants were brought to New York by Leeser and the Democratically-controlled city council of El Paso in the previous month; they are now requesting payment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their expenses but the Democrats have not attacked Leeser despite the fact that they have charged GOP leaders with “human trafficking” over the action.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said, “We’ve never seen anything like this, it’s a scene that you would see in a third-world country, not in the streets of El Paso.”
In addition, according to an outlet, the city council of El Paso recently approved a $2 million, 16-month contract to keep busing illegal aliens out of the city.
Sources: Dailywire, Wsj, Abcnews