Migrants sent by bus to northern US cities: A ‘publicity stunt’ crippling aid organisations

A group of migrants in El Paso, Texas board a bus destined for New York City on September 17, 2022. El Paso officials say they have started coordinating relief efforts with northern cities. © ElizabethHopk14 / Twitter

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis caused an uproar in the US in early September after sending two planes full of migrants and asylum seekers on planes to the upscale town of Martha’s Vineyard, promising jobs and housing for them on arrival. The move followed several months of efforts by other Republican governors to send thousands of migrants from border zones to Democratic cities. According to our Observers, the initiatives create a political spectacle using “human life as a political point”.

On Monday, September 19, nine buses full of migrants and asylum seekers arrived in New York City, a record number of new arrivals in one day. And they all came from border zones in Texas.