Gov. Greg Abbott has so far spent nearly $3 million in taxpayer money busing migrants out of Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott has racked up nearly $3 million in state expenses to bus migrants from South Texas to the nation's capital, a move blasted by critics as an election-year stunt, Britain's Daily Mail reports.

As of June 7, Texas has used $2.9 million in taxpayer money to send roughly 1,800 migrants to Washington, D.C., according to Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) documents obtained by the newspaper. More than $1 million of that total has gone to covering security costs, while driver salaries and GPS tracking also factored into the total, the numbers show.

As scrutiny built around the bus trips, which started in early April, the Republican governor launched a crowdfunding page to bring in private donations. However, the Daily Mail's document dive revealed that the page as so far raised just shy of $113,000 to defray the costs.

Expect funds to continue flowing out of Texas' coffers, the paper also reports. On Friday, Abbott's office confirmed that additional buses are continuing to ship migrants out of the state.

When Abbott initiated his busing plan, he touted it as payback for the Biden administration, which he claims has done nothing to thwart illegal immigration. As he campaigns for a third term, the governor has seized on anti-immigrant rhetoric and overblown claims about his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

However, reporting on Abbott's busing plan revealed it wasn't nearly as punitive as he initially indicated. Immigrants must volunteer to get on the buses, and many have said they were excited to get free rides to be closer to family on the East Coast.

During an April 21 event in San Antonio, Abbott admitted that the buses dispatched thus far carried as few as nine passengers and never more than 28.

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