AUSTIN, Texas — Tens of millions of dollars and nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants later, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) shows no signs of stopping the state’s busing initiative as it drives into the second year.
“Gov. Abbott launched the border bus mission in April 2022 to provide support to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities as the Biden administration dumps thousands of migrants in their towns,” Abbott’s spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said. “Texas has since bused over 19,000 migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Denver, providing much-needed relief.”
Since April 2022, more than 9,500 immigrants have accepted the free nonstop charter bus ride to Washington . In August 2022, Abbott expanded the service to include New York City as a destination, with more than 7,000 people taking that route, according to data provided by Abbott’s office Friday afternoon.
More than 2,000 people have gone to Chicago since late August 2022, and another 1,100 went to Philadelphia since it was added to the destination list last November. The fifth and newest destination city, Denver, has had 40 people dropped off since May 18.
As the buses have rolled out, the Texas Division of Emergency Management has had to roll out the checkbook. Just three months into the one-city operation last year, the state estimated expenditures had cost $7 million to date to move 4,800 people.
While the total cost to date is unknown, based on last year’s costs and the quadrupling of buses sent north, the operation could have topped $30 million to date.
It is but a blip on the state’s border security budget for the duration of the Biden administration, which could top $8 billion through 2024.
The state of Texas is allowing the public to donate money to cover the millions of dollars it has spent busing illegal immigrants. The state has recouped more than $415,000 as of May 11.
Texans have been affected to a far greater extent by the influx of noncitizens illegally crossing the border than any of the four southern border states. More than 3.1 million illegal immigrants encountered by Border Patrol from February 2021 to April occurred in Texas-based sectors, according to a Washington Examiner analysis of data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. More than 1 million have been caught and then released into the country. That enormous burden hit the state hard in 2021, when small border towns such as Eagle Pass and Del Rio faced more than 1,000 people being put onto their streets each day.
Last April, Abbott announced the state would make buses available for immigrants to get free rides to Washington in an effort to alleviate pressure on small border communities and to make a political point by bringing the border crisis to Biden’s backyard.
Last week, Abbott stepped up the state’s response in a new way and asked governors to deploy military and police to help the Lone Star State respond to the Biden-era border crisis in the aftermath of Title 42 ending.
“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue busing migrants to sanctuary cities to provide relief to our overwhelmed border town,” Mahaleris wrote in an email.
