Abbott promises 'even more buses' if Biden admin pushes reported plan to keep migrants in Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday promised he would send "even more buses" of migrants to cities, including Washington, D. C., if the Biden administration moved forward with a reported plan to keep migrants in Texas — just as the administration is facing pressure from left-wing officials in cities like New York City over migrant traffic.

"Biden considers forcing migrant families to remain in Texas. This scam was tried years ago & was shot down by a judge," Abbott said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "We will send Biden the same swift justice."

"And, we will add even more buses of migrants to Washington D. C.," he said.

Abbott was reacting to a Los Angeles Times report that described a potential Department of Homeland Security policy to force some illegal immigrant family units to remain in Texas by tracking them with GPS monitoring devices, including ankle bracelets.

The Times reported that the families would be put through an asylum process to determine if they could stay, and if not, they could be more easily deported due to their proximity to the border. The outlet highlighted that it echoed a Reagan-era plan that forced migrants to remain near the border while their applications were considered.

While it would tap into conservative arguments that migrants need to be detained or closely tracked so that they can quickly be deported instead of being released into the country with a notice to appear in court, it would also put pressure on the Republican state and likely raise significant objections from lawmakers there. The program would be an expansion of the Family Expedited Removal Program, which imposes curfews and monitors family units that have traveled to large cities.

In response to the report, a DHS spokesperson said that the administration "is committed to expanding safe and orderly pathways for migrants to lawfully enter the United States, while imposing consequences to those who fail to use those pathways."

"Since May 2023, DHS has removed or returned over 200,000 individuals, including over 17,000 individual family unit members," they said. "DHS continuously holds policy and operational discussions on how to leverage our authorities to ensure a fair, humane, and effective immigration process that efficiently removes those without a lawful basis to stay in the country."... (Read more)

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