Texas Governor Greg Abbott appears to have celebrated Christmas this weekend by ensuring that three busloads of migrants would be left in the cold outside of Kamala Harris’s residence.
The Republican state leader has continued, along with Florida’s Ron DeSantis, to use confused migrants and lure them onto buses to take them to areas that will attract media attention under the promise of aid being provided once they arrive. In many if not all cases, the governors have had little to no contact with local authorities to manage the migrants’ arrival and to ensure they are not left out on the street in an unfamiliar town.
Their efforts have been aided by conservative media outlets which have gladly accepted exclusives on the arrivals and covered the issue extensively to the delight of far-right viewers.
Temperatures in DC last night were well below freezing and a persistent wind made it an especially dangerous Christmas Eve for the city’s houseless population.
The three busloads of migrants were reportedly dropped off in front of the Naval Observatory, home to the vice president. Originally, they were bound for New York, but diverted because of the weather according to CNN, citing one of the aid groups that arrived to meet the migrants in the dead of night.
Some services were also provided by the DC Mayor’s office, according to news reports.
Ms Harris accepted an assignment from President Joe Biden upon taking office to address the level of illegal migration at the southern US border; the issue is a major sore spot for conservatives who argue that the Biden administration is ignoring the crisis. In September, the DC Mayor’s office was forced to open a special office to deal specifically with arriving migrants in response to the political stunts launched by Mr Abbott and Mr DeSantis.
Ms Harris and Mr Biden both have received criticism as well for not visiting the border region and witnessing the state of affairs firsthand.
Mr DeSantis and Mr Abbott, meanwhile, have been accused of using human beings as political pawns and misleading or outright lying to migrants in order to trick them onto buses bound for liberal strongholds.
“Worthless @GovAbbott dropping off people with no money and no means on Christmas Eve in 15 degree weather near the VP’s residence. How Christian of you, Greg Abbott. Being a heartless POS isn’t going to make you the next Republican President,” wrote Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat.
“Governor Abbott claims to be a ’pro-life Christian’ yet shows no regard for the lives of children left shivering in the freezing cold on Christmas Eve. Dropping off migrants in 18 degree weather is so cruel that it ought to be criminal,” added Ritchie Torres, another Democrat in the House of Representatives.
“These people exited the bus with no winter clothes and on a night where most hotels are booked. These people do not care about immigrants,” said comedian Walter Masterson.
Tennis star Martina Navratilova added: “So Abbott did this. What a cruel nasty man he turns out to be. One would think a man in a wheelchair would have more empathy than this. What an utter ass. This is criminal.”
Others responded to Christmas greetings tweeted out by the governor by dubbing him “Herod”, the biblical villain.
The Independent has asked Governor Abbott’s office for comment.
