Greg Abbott's Bid To Shake Up Immigration Debate Is Succeeding

By sending thousands of migrants to sanctuary cities in the north, the Republican Texas governor has forced Democrats to face the hot-button political issue head on

- ANDREW STANTON

TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT has altered the U.S. political landscape on immigration by busing migrants from Texas to Democratic-led sanctuary cities.

In 2022 the Republican began sending migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to cities that protect undocumented peoples from deportation, amid an influx arriving to the southern frontier. There were more than 2.4 million encounters between migrants and border control officers at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The governor has faced substantial backlash over the policy, as critics accuse him of using migrants as political pawns. The White House has slammed it as a "cruel, dangerous and shameful stunt." Abbott, however, has defended the move as necessary, pointing to Texas' border towns becoming overwhelmed with migrants, and that sanctuary cities should be prepared to take in more.

The divisive tactic has upended the political discourse surrounding immigration, adding pressure to President Joe Biden, who faces new criticism from fellow Democrats over his handling of immigration as sanctuary city mayors plead with the federal government to provide more resources to grapple with the migrant influx.

Pleas For More Funding

A coalition of Democratic mayors from Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York City in November wrote a letter to Biden expressing their concerns about the arrival of more migrants to their cities, urging him to allocate more federal funding.

"Cities have historically absorbed and integrated new migrants with success, but the challenges brought by the new border arrivals are due not only to the high numbers but also the diversity of nationalities, the large share arriving as families, and the overwhelming number who seek asylum," the letter reads.