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Migrants on the U.S. banks of the Rio Grande: Texas escalates conflict over immigration policy again
Photo: Cheney Orr / REUTERS
Republican Governor Greg Abbott is once again tightening his migration course: In Texas, a plane has taken off for the first time, transporting more than 120 migrants from the border between the USA and Mexico to Chicago, reports the AP news agency.
Abbott had already brought more than 80,000 migrants to Democratically governed cities on free bus rides since last year. The first flight took off from El Paso and landed in Chicago on Tuesday, Abbott's office said. A week earlier, the Chicago City Council had passed measures against the arrival of buses carrying migrants, which in turn had provoked sharp criticism from Mayor Brandon Johnson.
According to the city, bus companies had tried to drop people off in neighboring towns to avoid imminent fines or seizures. Bus operators in Chicago could face harsher penalties in the future if they do not drop off newcomers at a designated location or fail to fill out city documents.
The flights were the result of Johnson's "attack on migrant buses," said Abbott's spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris. The first plane took off just a day after Abbott signed a new law on tougher migration rules. The law allows the police of the US state of Texas to arrest irregular migrants in the future. In addition, Texas courts are to be given the power to order deportations.
The law is in clear contradiction to the democratic immigration policy of the government in Washington. "Until President Biden steps in and does his job of securing the border, Texas will continue to take historic steps to help our local partners respond to this Biden-induced crisis," Mahaleris said.
eru/AP