Another bus carrying migrants from Texas has arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, marking the 13th such arrival since June 14, as reported by Mayor Karen Bass’ office.
Zach Seidl, the deputy mayor of communications, stated, “One bus with migrants from Texas arrived at Union Station around 8:55 AM PT today. This marks the thirteenth bus to arrive in our city.
Los Angeles has been actively collaborating with city departments, the county, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, and faith partners to implement a plan that was established earlier this year. As soon as we became aware of the bus’s arrival yesterday, we initiated our prepared plan.”
According to city officials, Los Angeles has received approximately 500 migrants from Texas since the first bus arrived.
These buses are part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which he initiated, citing the overwhelming challenges posed by immigrants crossing the Mexican border in the Texas border region. Operation Lone Star is a joint effort involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department along the southern border between Texas and Mexico.
Governor Abbott has emphasized that the operation’s primary goals are to combat the influx of immigrants, illegal drug trade, and human smuggling.
He has also provided statistics, stating that as of August 26, the operation resulted in over 420,800 apprehensions, 33,600 criminal arrests, 30,500 felony charges, the seizure of 436 million fentanyl doses, and the transportation of 33,230 migrants to cities designated as “Sanctuary Cities.”
Abbott underscored his commitment by stating, “Texas secures the border in President Biden’s absence.”
However, Mayor Karen Bass has strongly criticized Governor Abbott’s actions, particularly in sending migrants to Los Angeles. She asserted, “Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the front lines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.”
Bass has expressed frustration with the lack of information sharing from Abbott’s office regarding the shipments. She mentioned that the city often only learns about the buses when they are en route, lacking crucial details about the number of people on board and their condition upon arrival. She raised concerns about migrants potentially not having enough food or water during their journey.
It’s worth noting that the Los Angeles City Council had previously approved a motion on June 9 to formally establish the city as a sanctuary city. Additionally, last month, the council approved a motion calling for the City Attorney’s Office to investigate whether any crimes were committed on or before June 14, when the first batch of 42 migrants was sent to Los Angeles as part of Governor Abbott’s shipments.