Texas Dumps Two Busloads of Migrants in Front of Kamala Harris’ D.C. Residence

Florida and Texas’ plan to transport migrants to “leftist” cities culminated in a pair of cruel publicity stunts in a 12-hour span this week, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering two busloads be dropped off outside the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday morning.

The buses that arrived in Washington, D.C. carried about 100 migrants, Fox News reported, most of whom were nationals from Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia, and Mexico.

Video circulating online from the scene showed a group of young men, women, and children carrying backpacks, pillows, and blankets as they chatted outside Harris’ residence with nowhere to go initially.

As word spread of their arrival, however, local immigrant organizations went into action. A representative from a charity called Sanctuary DMV came later in the morning and announced that the migrants could temporarily be sheltered at a local church.

The buses were sent without warning, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told DC News Now, leaving the city unprepared. She said she became aware of the buses only after a reporter called her office, and a “city task force” was being sent to provide help.

A representative from SAMU First Response, which delivers humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers in D.C., told The Daily Beast at the scene that aid groups were expecting the migrants to be dropped at Union Station, similar to other recent arrivals.

“They were very confused,” said Tatiana Laborde, the organization’s managing director. “One thing is being dropped off at Union Station, you know, where it is a bigger, more open space. Another one is the sidewalk we have by the [Naval] Observatory, fully guarded. It’s much more challenging.”

Laborde said the buses have become more regular recently, with the next known arrival coming via Arizona on Friday. She said the influx is straining her organization.

“Buses are constantly coming,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re going to get more buses tomorrow morning here.”

‌

DC News Now spoke with one migrant named Wilder Alberto Pinto Sosa. He said he made the journey to the U.S. with his son through eight countries and they hoped to eventually make it to New York.

Pinto Sosa said they were bused from Texas and were happy to be in the U.S., telling DC News Now they’d been treated “much better than any other country” they’d passed through.

Thursday’s stunt was just the latest from Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have both shipped potential refugees north and flagged conservative media outlets before alerting their arrival cities.

‘I Was Lied to’: A Nightmare Trip on TX Guv’s Bus SideshowPAWNS IN A GAME

Valeria Ricciulli, Matt Taylor

On Wednesday night, DeSantis ordered a pair of charter flights—booked using $12 million of taxpayer money—to carry around 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a posh Massachusetts island that doesn’t have proper facilities to care for a migrant influx. The migrants involved were flown from Texas to Florida, where they spent no time on the ground, before being flown north, NPR reported.

The flight’s arrival sent local officials scrambling, while DeSantis confirmed he was the instigator.

“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,” a spokesperson for DeSantis told CBS Boston.

The migrants, meanwhile, deplaned confused. One migrant told NPR she was told the flight was headed to Boston so she could get expedited work papers.

‌

A person named “Perla” was walking around a San Antonio, Texas, facility to recruit people to fly north, the migrant said, all the way up until the flight’s departure. The flight then left Texas for Florida, where it had a brief layover, before stopping again in South Carolina en route to Martha’s Vineyard.

The town administrator for Edgartown, where the migrants are staying, said he's not worried about the politics of the situation—he’s just focused on how his town of 5,200 can help.

“I have 50 individuals that we have to take care of and need services, and we need to coordinate efforts and make sure it’s done effectively,” James Hagerty told The Daily Beast on Thursday. “And make sure it’s done to the best of our abilities. That’s what we owe the citizens of the town.”

Hagerty said many of the migrants didn’t know where they were when they deplaned. For now, they’re being sheltered in a church, he said, while state officials figure out a long-term plan.

Using migrants, many of whom have escaped violence, as political pawns enraged officials and advocates who called the stunts immoral and fiscally irresponsible.

Massachusetts State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, a Democrat who represents the island, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times the was “disgusting” and “inhumane.”

“These governors or whoever it is, all they care about is scoring some political points on Tucker Carlson and Fox News,” he said. “These people claim to be Christians? This is about as unChristian a thing as you could be doing. It’s evil.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called the move “repulsive and cruel,” while Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said the decisions should disqualify DeSantis and Abbott from holding public office.

“Somebody who would round up Venezuelans, who have fled one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world, and then use them for a political stunt, has no business ever holding any political office,” he said.

‌Venezuelan migrants stand outside St. Andrew's Church on Martha’s Vineyard.‌

Others, like Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, have called the governors human traffickers—lying to vulnerable migrants and promising them help, then shipping them unannounced over state lines. And doing so at a significant expense.

DeSantis’ stunt reportedly cost $12 million—more than $200,000 per migrant—while Texas has spent $14 million since Sept. 7 on busing migrants, KXAN reported.

“Florida is spending $12 million to fly innocent migrant children out of our state when that money could be spent on fighting to help Floridians and lower costs,” tweeted Charlie Crist, a Democrat running to become Florida’s governor. “This is just another political stunt that hurts our state.”

DeSantis’ office, meanwhile, has proudly touted its expensive endeavor, with the governor declaring in a press conference Thursday morning that he was sending migrants to “greener pastures.” His deputy press secretary, meanwhile, perhaps unwittingly compared his boss’ work to that of drug cartels.

“Do the cartels that smuggle humans call Florida or Texas before illegal immigrants wash up on our shores or cross over the border?” tweeted Jeremy Redfern. “No. Welcome to being a state on the Southern border, Massachusetts.”

—with additional reporting by Eileen Grench