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Gov. Greg Abbott puts on a scowl and a faux-military shirt for a photo op along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Or so says a press release issued Friday by Abbott's office.
The migrants' arrival in New York appears to be the latest warm squirt in a pissing match between Abbott and Adams, a high profile Democrat. It also comes a week after Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser blasted Abbott's busing program for creating what she called a "humanitarian crisis" in the nation's capital.
Abbott has publicly bragged about busing more than 6,000 migrants to D.C. to show his disdain for President Joe Biden's border policies. Critics on both the left and right have called Abbott's initiative an election-year publicity stunt.
"In addition to Washington, D.C, New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city," Abbott said the Monday press release announcing the bus' arrival. "I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief."
Officials in Abbott's office were unavailable at press time to answer questions about his decision to begin sending migrants to NYC.
New York City is one of the few cities in the country with right-to-housing laws, which ensure that the local government will provide "emergency shelter for every unhoused person." Even so, Adams warned last week that the Big Apple's homeless shelters were overflowing with migrants and were nearing a breaking point.
In a statement to the New York Post, New York City Press Secretary Fabien Levy scolded Abbott for using human beings as political pawns, calling his busing program an "embarrassing stain on the state of Texas."
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