First Busload of Illegal Immigrants Arrives in Los Angeles From Texas

Officials and volunteers deliver diapers, supplies and toys to St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church where migrants have been transported in Los Angeles, June 14, 2023. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on June 14 that the Lone Star State has transported a group of illegal immigrants to Los Angeles for the first time, a move described by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass as a “despicable stunt.”

“Texas just dropped off the 1st bus of migrants in Los Angeles,” Abbott, a Republican, wrote on Twitter.

Around 40 illegal immigrants, including families with children, arrived in Los Angeles via bus on June 14. They were provided care and support services at St. Anthony’s Croatian Catholic Church in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, according to officials and service providers.

In a statement, Abbott repeated his justification for the relocation, saying Texas border towns are overwhelmed as thousands of individuals continue to cross the U.S.–Mexico border under President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

“Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status,” Abbott said in a statement.

One of the arrivals, a man from Honduras, has an immigration parole court date in New York, according to migrant advocate Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), who expressed doubt in comments to the Los Angeles Times about the appropriateness of busing the man to California.

Under Abbott’s direction, the Texas Division of Emergency Management has transported more than 21,600 illegal immigrants from border towns to Democrat-led sanctuary cities, including Washington, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and most recently, Denver, since April 2022. The leaders of these cities, which have been unprepared for the arrivals, have criticized the strategy as racist and a political stunt.

Los Angeles County Public Health Emergency Operations officials leave St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church after evaluating newly arrived migrants being housed in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles on June 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LA Mayor Says City Prepared

Video footage shared by Fox News shows the group of illegal immigrants, including families with young children, arriving in Los Angeles with luggage and soft toys. They made a stop at Union Station before being taken to a welcoming center, where they were provided with food and other services, such as attorneys, by city agencies and nonprofits.

“They left yesterday and it was 23 hours on the bus,” said Cabrera, who claimed they didn’t have a chance to eat or drink water.

“They are being fed; they’re taking shelters; they’re talking to attorneys,” he added. “These are migrants that have been allowed by the U.S. to enter because they have credible fears. They have not yet received asylum.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Cabrera for further comment.

Upon their arrival, Bass issued a statement emphasizing the human aspect of what is a divisive political issue.

“This evening, more than 40 people were sent by the Governor of Texas to our City of Los Angeles. Shortly after I took office, I directed City Departments to begin planning for an event like this. This did not catch us off guard. We are now executing our plan,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Los Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives,” she continued. “For everything that we do, we will continue to lock arms and we will continue to lead—and we will always put people’s health and wellbeing over politics.”

The arrival follows a week after a separate group was flown to Sacramento, California, from Texas by Florida, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called inhumane. California Attorney General Rob Bonta characterized the actions as “state-sanctioned kidnapping” and accused Florida of exploiting vulnerable individuals.

Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has argued that sanctuary jurisdictions including California share the blame for the illegal immigration crisis.

“These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem because they have endorsed and agitated for these types of open border policies. They have bragged that they are sanctuary jurisdictions,” he said.

He also criticized the lack of federal action in safeguarding U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Since Biden took office, illegal immigration at the U.S.–Mexico border has surged. Florida has also seen arrivals by boat from countries such as Haiti.

However, some sanctuary cities, including New York and Chicago, have struggled to manage the influx of illegal immigrants sent from border states via buses and planes.

In an aerial view, immigrants line up to be processed to make asylum claims at a makeshift migrant camp in El Paso, Texas, on May 11, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Critics of the busing strategy argued that illegal immigrants are being “dumped” in the sanctuary jurisdictions and aren’t being treated with dignity after they are released by border agents on parole.

The Biden administration has shifted its focus from the Title 42 order that expired in May to a parole program and an online mobile application portal called CBP One.

Under the parole program, which has been challenged in federal court by Florida, illegal immigrants can apply for temporary entry online instead of at the border. If they illegally cross the border, they will be returned and disqualified from the parole program. Critics highlight that the parole program is identical to a “catch and release” program, which was blocked by a federal court.

The administration also has proposed a rule stating that asylum applicants must seek protection in countries they travel through before reaching the United States.