Latin American migrants traveling in a caravan cross the Rio Grande on their way to seek political asylum in the United States – Copyright AFP YASUYOSHI CHIBA
Three busloads of migrant families arrived from Texas near the home of the vice president during the record-setting cold on Christmas Eve.
According to ABC7 News, a total of three busloads stopped outside the Naval Observatory late on Christmas Eve. They were carrying around 110 to 130 people, according to Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, a relief agency working with the city of Washington to serve thousands of migrants who have been dropped off in recent months.
The migrants were later taken to a church by the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, a local aid group, according to The Hill.
Some of the migrants, that included children were wearing T-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington, according to VOA News.
Not only were the migrants given warm blankets and a place to sleep, but a local restaurant chain donated dinner and breakfast.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment Sunday morning. His office said last week that Texas has given bus rides to more than 15,000 people since April to Washington, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan called the bus drop-offs a “cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt.”
“As we have repeatedly said, we are willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, but these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger,” Hasan said in a statement Sunday.
