Abbott Blasts Potential WH ‘Remain in Texas’ Migrant Policy, Threatens ‘Even More Buses’ to D.C.

Texas governor Greg Abbott has promised to send “even more buses” to Washington, D.C. if President Joe Biden’s proposal to restrict the ability of border states to relocate illegal immigrants to other spots around the county proceeds.

“Biden considers forcing migrant families to remain in Texas. This scam was tried years ago & was shot down by a judge,” the Republican governor wrote on X, the social-media platform 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.,” Abbott warned on Thursday.

Abbott was reacting to a Los Angeles Times report which revealed a proposed “Biden plan [that] would force certain migrant families to remain in Texas — or possibly other border states — by tracking their location through GPS monitoring devices, such as ankle bracelets, according to the three officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.”

“The families would be put through an asylum screening process to determine whether they could stay in the U.S. and proceed with their claims. Officials have discussed working with local organizations to provide housing for the families,” Times journalist Hamed Aleaziz wrote.

“If the families failed their initial screenings, they’d be easier to deport because they’d be close to the border.”

The piece drew the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to clarify that the Biden 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,” the agency said in an official statement. “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.”

The day before, District Court judge David Ezra ruled against Abbott, saying that the governor’s floating barrier buoys recently placed along stretches of the Rio Grande River to deter illegal migrants was unlawful.

“This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers,” the Lone Star State governor wrote in a statement shortly after.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) filed its lawsuit against the border-control measure in July, citing the need for federal approval.

Carolina Canizales, a senior Texas strategist with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, applauded the development. “The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, as millions of other immigrants have done for hundreds of years in this country.”