Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the state plans to start transporting “illegal immigrants” to Washington DC by charter bus.
Mr Abbott said he is “fed up” with migrants being released into small towns in Texas by the federal government, and that he plans to drop the migrants near the steps of the US Capitol, at a press conference Wednesday.
Soon after the announcement, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he also planned to send migrants to “sanctuary states like Delaware”.
It comes after President Joe Biden announced the federal government would lift a public health order imposed by Donald Trump that blocked most asylum seekers from crossing the US-Mexico border during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Known as Title 42, the order led to the expulsion of 1.7m migrants.
Mr Abbott said on Wednesday he would help communities who “are being overwhelmed by hordes of illegal immigrants” who he claimed had been dropped off by the Biden administration.
“Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal aliens... to Washington DC,” Mr Abbott said.
“We are sending them to the United States capitol where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.”
A Texas state official said as many as 900 buses could be used to transport the migrants to DC.
The administration is due to revoke Title 42 by 23 May.
