According to The Washington Examiner, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration has allocated more than $221 million for the transportation of approximately 120,000 migrants and asylum seekers out of Texas. This expenditure occurred between April 2022 and August 2024.
Migrants were primarily sent to six sanctuary cities, including New York, Chicago, and Denver, during this time.
The transportation companies received a staggering $221,705,637 in payments from the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Records indicate that a total of 750 payments were made, amounting to an average of $1,847 per person for the bus rides.
In January 2024, New York City filed a lawsuit against 17 Texas charter bus companies for their involvement in facilitating Texas’ actions. The city claimed that these companies received around $1,650 for each migrant they transported to New York City, which is at least 5 times more than the alleged cost of a single one-way ticket, estimated at $291. This aligns with the findings of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claimed that the bus companies were avoiding NYC’s regulations by bringing migrants to New Jersey and then covering the cost of their transportation into the city.
The mismanagement of the crisis in Texas was also highlighted due to the challenging conditions faced during the 40-hour drive to New York. The lack of food, water, and access to clean bathrooms added to the difficulties.
“Abbott manipulated innocent people for political gain,” Mayor Adams criticized in a tweet in August 2022, as the Texas Administration began dispatching buses to the city.
In April 2022, the state-funded bus rides were initiated as a component of Operation Lone Star. Governor Abbott made the announcement that migrants would be dropped off at the steps of the Capitol.
“We are sending them to the United States’ capital, 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,” said Abbott during a press conference at the time.
In March of this year, the Texas governor’s office dispatched a staggering number of migrants to various cities across the United States. Specifically, they sent over 12,500 migrants to Washington, 39,600 to New York City, 32,500 to Chicago, 3,400 to Philadelphia, 16,900 to Denver, and 1,500 to Los Angeles. These numbers highlight the significant impact of migration on major cities across the country.
The practice of sending buses to transport migrants from Mexico to the state has mostly stopped, as the number of migrants reaching the state has significantly decreased. Data obtained by NBC News reveals that during the month of July, no buses were sent. This is in stark contrast to the same month in 2023, when 4,281 people were sent in 95 buses, according to data from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
The numbers have been steadily decreasing since the start of the year and this decline accelerated after the Biden administration implemented an executive order that aimed to strengthen measures against illegal immigration.
In January, the Abbott administration sent a total of 156 buses out of state. However, the number of buses dropped in February, only to increase again in March and April, with authorities sending over 100 buses each month. The figures began to decline in May, with only 76 buses being sent out, and dropped even further to less than 30 in June. The last bus departed the state on June 11 with 25 passengers, which was only half of its capacity.
