Abbott's immigrant bussing scheme clears 50,000 sent to sanctuary cities

Texas has officially sent more than 50,000 illegal immigrants to left-wing sanctuary cities as part of GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's scheme to highlight the Biden administration's lax approach to border enforcement.

The Lone Star State has borne the brunt of a surge in illegal border crossings under the Biden administration and has taken unilateral action to deal with the crisis amid Washington's perceived unwillingness to address the issue. Abbott's policy of relocating migrants to sanctuary cities has thus far sent new arrivals to major cities such as Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

The total number of migrants bussed under the plan reached roughly 51,840 this month, according to Axios. New York, Chicago, and D.C. received the bulk of the migrants, with 18,500 going to the Big Apple, 13,500 heading to the Windy City, and 12,500 arriving in the nation's capital thus far.

The strain of the influx has several major American cities crying uncle and asking the Biden administration to either provide direct support or close the border altogether.

New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams issued a dire warning last month, saying he saw no end to the stream of migrants.

"I’m gonna tell you something, New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I didn’t see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this," he said at the time. "This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City."

Apart from the 18,500 sent directly by the state, New York has had to contend with roughly 110,000 arrivals total over the past year, which have strained the city's resources and prompted Adams to seek a suspension of the "right-to-shelter" mandate.

In Chicago, polling data has shown the public turning against the city's sanctuary designation, with only 39% of the public backing the city's current approach in an M3 Strategies survey conducted this month.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.