Texas’ largest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, rebuked Governor Greg Abbott on Saturday in an editorial over bussing migrants to Democrat-led states, writing that “the [southern] border is Abbott’s ticket to ride, and he don’t care.”
Tensions over the handling of the U.S.-Mexico border remains as the country experiences heightened levels of migrant border crossings. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
Republicans say the uptick in migrants is a direct result of President Joe Biden‘s border policies, which, they argue, incentivize illegal immigration. Other experts have said various factors, including political and financial instability in some Central American countries, drive migration to the United States.
Abbott, an outspoken critic of Biden over immigration issues, launched his border-control initiative, Operation Lone Star, in 2021 in an effort to combat immigration. According to Abbott, since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the effort has led to over 510,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions.
Abbott’s operation has involved transporting migrants, either by bus or by plane, to Democratic-controlled sanctuary cities, which have policies in place that discourage local law enforcement from reporting the immigration status of individuals unless it involves a serious crime.
In an op-ed published by the Chronicle on Saturday titled, “From Beyonce to Abbott’s migrant buses, why the no shows?” the newspaper’s editorial board critiqued Abbott’s vow at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July to keep bussing migrants, noting the drop in the number of migrants being bussed.
Newsweek has reached out to Abbott’s office via email for comment.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is seen onstage during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17. Texas’ largest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, rebuked Abbott on Saturday in an editorial over bussing migrants to Democrat-led states, writing that “the [southern] border is Abbott’s ticket to ride, and he don’t care.”
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images
The number of migrants has declined over the last six months, dropping by more than fourfold since the second half of 2023. The state figures, analyzed by the Chronicle, show that while Abbott’s program sent about 77,000 migrants to six Democratic-led cities between August to December of last year, it has only bussed about 17,000 to three cities this year—New York City, Chicago and Denver.
Meanwhile, no buses have been sent by Texas anywhere for nearly two months, according to state data obtained by The New York Times.
According to Texas officials, the reason for the lack of buses was not that the program had been halted, but that there have not been enough migrants to send, the Times reported.
The Chronicle’s editorial board took aim at Abbott, accusing him of “trying to take credit” for the decline, writing that there are other factors that likely led to the decline.
“Abbott’s office is trying to take credit, pointing to increased razor wire and National Guard troops. But two other factors seem more significant: Mexico’s efforts to prevent crossings into the U.S. and President Biden’s order in June,” the Chronicle’s editorial board wrote.
In June, Biden announced an order that blocks asylum requests at the southern border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening only once that number declines to 1,500 crossings.
“The buses are reportedly still standing by, kind of like the Maytag repairman hoping for a call. We can’t imagine Abbott is buoyed or discouraged by this development. His busing campaign was never really about border security. It was a route to political expediency. When it comes to politics, the border is Abbott’s ticket to ride, and he don’t care,” the Chronicle’s editorial board wrote.
However, Abbott has insisted on continuing the program vowing at the RNC to keep sending his buses full of migrants to Democrat-led states until “we finally secure the border.”
Despite criticisms from Democrats, who accuse Abbott of using migrants as “political pawns,” the governor has repeatedly defended his program.
According to the governor’s office earlier this month, Abbott’s administration has moved over 119,000 migrants since 2022 to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.
It’s unclear why Texas hasn’t been sending as many migrants in recent months, but the number of CBP encounters has dropped, which could mean fewer migrants to send, and the program itself has faced legal setbacks that may depress its operations.
Abbott has taken credit for the dip in illegal crossings, boasting in a press release in June that crossings have decreased by 74 percent since the launch of Operation Lone Star.
However, more recently illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border dropped to a nearly four-year low last month, according to data released last week by the CBP. Agents reported 56,408 illegal crossings last month, a 32 percent decline from June. It also marked the fifth consecutive month that illegal crossing numbers have dropped.