Long the subject of rhetoric, migrants have now become props in political theater

Dozens of migrants, including several family units, leave on a New York City-bound bus outside a shelter in El Paso on Aug. 31, 2022. The city and county of El Paso are sponsoring (to be reimbursed by FEMA) the voluntary trips to relieve pressure on local resources and shelters. (Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune)

For five months, Gov. Greg Abbott bused migrants to Democrat-led cities to draw attention to the number of people arriving at the Texas border.

He began with Washington, D.C., then expanded the busing to New York and Chicago. At least 11,000 migrants have been removed from the state, by all accounts voluntarily.