Texas Governor Orders Hundreds of Migrants Bused from El Paso to New York, Chicago

Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state’s Division of Emergency Management to bus hundreds of migrants from El Paso to New York City and Chicago Tuesday. The action came in response to a disaster declaration and a request for state assistance from the mayor of El Paso.

Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) officials told Breitbart Texas that the governor ordered the deployment of multiple buses to El Paso. The buses began picking up migrants released by U.S. Border Patrol officials into the city of El Paso as the surge of migrant crossings continues to grow.

The deployment of the buses comes in response to the Disaster Declaration issued by El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser on Saturday. The mayor requested the state provide assistance with the transportation of migrants.

Since receiving the request from the mayor, TDEM buses transported more than 200 migrants from ten different countries to the sanctuary cities of New York and Chicago. Additional buses are standing by to take migrants as they become available.

All migrants transported by the TDEM sign voluntary transportation statements before being allowed to board the buses.

TDEM officials emphasized that all buses sent by the State of Texas will be used to transport migrants out of the state. No state buses will be used for the transportation of migrants to cities in Texas.

Officials said they are also prepared to assist El Paso County but no official request has been received.

The State is also prepared to provide assistance to any other border community that requests assistance in dealing with the migrant surge, officials stated.

El Paso city and county officials are reportedly engaged in discussions with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins regarding moving migrants from El Paso to their respective counties.

The mayor issued the declaration as migrants released by Border Patrol officials were forced to sleep on the streets of El Paso in freezing weather conditions. El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials released more than 10,000 migrants in El Paso during the past week.

A dashboard published by the City of El Paso indicates that Border Patrol agents continue to apprehend nearly 1,600 migrants per day. More than 600 are being released to the city on a daily basis.

Texas Military Department officials also deployed approximately 400 National Guard military police soldiers to El Paso to assist with deterring border crossings, Breitbart Texas reported. The stated mission for the deployment is to assist in “deterring illegal migrants from Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, into the United States.”