Texas' Greg Abbott Slams ‘Hypocrite-in-Chief’ Biden After WH Dubs Migrant Transport 'Illegal Stunt'

Frustration over the US border crisis prompted Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida to send two airplanes filled with illegal immigrants to the affluent vacation retreat of Martha’s Vineyard, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent two busloads of migrants to a location near the residence of Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday morning.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has lambasted the Biden administration for continuing to turn a blind eye to the crisis at the US southern border and failing to do its job. The Republican Governor’s office did not mince its words when responding to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's assertion that GOP governors were performing an "illegal stunt" when sending migrants to Martha's Vineyard and Washington, DC.

"The White House is full of a bunch of hypocrites, led by the Hypocrite-in-Chief who has been flying planeloads of migrants across the country and oftentimes under the cover of night," Greg Abbott's press secretary, Renae Eze, was cited as saying by Fox News Digital.

The press secretary clarified that all the migrants transported by Abbott had willingly signed a waiver form available in a number of languages before boarding the buses.

“These migrants …were processed and released by the federal government, who dumped them in small Texas border towns," Eze said.

The Republican governor’s office reiterated its earlier claims that both President Joe Biden and his "Border Czar", Vice-President Kamala Harris, were dismally failing to secure the border.

"Instead of their hypocritical complaints about Texas providing much-needed relief to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities, President Biden and Border Czar Harris need to step up and do their job to secure the border - something they continue to fail to do," Eze said.

Border Chaos

Two planes with mostly Venezuelan migrants landed on the affluent Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard on Wednesday, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking credit for their arrival.

"Yes, Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha's Vineyard today were part of the state's relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations," said Taryn Fenske, communications director for DeSantis.

Earlier, the Florida legislature appropriated $12Mln to transport the illegal migrants from the state, in accordance with federal law, Fenske added.

In Florida, we take what is happening at the southern border seriously.

We are not a sanctuary state, and we will gladly facilitate the transport of illegal immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions. pic.twitter.com/YeEbMzy8yG

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 15, 2022

As part of a strategy launched back in April, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent two buses of migrants from the US-Mexico border to a location near the residence of Vice-President Kamala Harris at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, on Thursday morning.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Migrants from Central and South America load into vans near the residence of US Vice President Kamala Harris after being dropped off on September 15, 2022 in Washington, DC.

© AFP 2023 / KEVIN DIETSCH

Abbott tweeted that he had dropped off the migrants in the VP’s “backyard” to call on the Biden administration to “do its job & secure the border”. A week earlier, Abbott sent about 75 migrants to Chicago.

This morning, two Texas buses of migrants arrived at the Naval Observatory in DC.

VP Harris claims our border is “secure” & denies the crisis.

We’re sending migrants to her backyard to call on the Biden Administration to do its job & secure the border. https://t.co/H5n0ChTbIX

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 15, 2022

Fellow Republican, Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona, has also adopted this approach, sending busloads of immigrants to the nation's capital, and saying in a news release that the trips, which are voluntary, are needed because of “little action or assistance from the federal government”.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deprecated the actions of the GOP governors as a “political stunt”.

"It is just cruel, and it's not about the process. Actually, It's about a political tool or political stunt that they're moving forward with," Jean-Pierre said at the Thursday press conference, while accusing the Republican governors of using migrants as "political pawns".

"There's a legal way of doing this. And for managing migrants, Republican governors, interfering in that process and using migrants as political pawns is shameful, is reckless and just plain wrong. And remember, these are people who are fleeing communism, who are fleeing hardship," Jean-Pierre said.

US border agents have already made a record 1.8Mln migrant arrests in the 2022 fiscal year, with many of those apprehended having attempted to cross several times. Since Biden took office, more than a million migrants have entered the country, according to figures cited by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

People use a ladder to scale the border fence at the US/Mexico border in Tecate, Mexico, Thursday, April 21, 2022. The men used the ropes to lower themselves down on the United States side.

© AP Photo / Denis Poroy

After migrants cross the US-Mexico border, they spend some time at a CBP facility before being released by border officials and served documents to appear in court. After that, they are no longer in federal custody and are free to travel across the country. Many wait months for case hearings because of legal and procedural backlogs.

Republicans have blamed the border chaos on Biden’s determination to “undo everything former President Donald Trump had done”. They have denounced the present administration’s “open border policies” and the scrapping of a number of restrictive measures against illegal migrants that had been set in place by the former president.