Gov. Abbott said donations would pay for migrant buses, but they only covered 1% of cost

After Gov. Greg Abbott boasted that private citizens would step up to fund his controversial program to bus migrants to sanctuary cities, a new CNN report shows that donations have paid for less than 1% of the total cost.

CNN reports that private donations have only covered $550,000 of the $150 million Texas has so far spent dumping migrants in cities including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The rest of the $1,500-per-person cost of transporting 100,000 asylum seekers to other locations has fallen on Texas taxpayers.

Abbott, a Republican, initiated the donation program roughly two years ago, announcing there would “be no cost to the state” because his office was “overwhelmed” by an outpouring of support from ordinary citizens around the country.

Abbott’s office didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment on why that doesn’t appear to have happened.

CNN also reports that Texas couldn’t bank on one $900,000 donation because it was either “a mistake or a prank,” and at least one other person confirmed he didn’t make the $2,000 donation listed under his name.

Abbott has couched the program as an effort to shield Texas constituents from an overflow of border crossers that the federal government is ignoring. Critics have pointed out that the Biden White House has so far taken more immigration-related executive actions than predecessor Donald Trump did during his entire term in office.

Abbott’s busing program also has raised humanitarian concerns. Last year, a 3-year-old girl died while being bused to Chicago, and asylum seekers have also reportedly been deposited in sanctuary cities during freezing weather. Further, a whistleblower who drove buses for the program last year described overflowing toilets and health risks on the vehicles.

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This article appears in Mar 6-19, 2024.