Texas Gov. Abbott tells GOP crowd in NY he’ll keep the migrant buses coming

Arya Sundaram

Published Apr 5, 2024

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Arya Sundaram

Published Apr 5, 2024

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told a Republican gathering in Midtown on Thursday that he won’t stop sending buses of migrants to New York City until President Joe Biden leaves office.

“We are going to have to maintain this process until we get a new president this next November who will secure the border for the United States of America,” Abbott said.

The Republican leader, who has bused more than 100,000 migrants to northern Democratic cities like New York, was the keynote speaker at the New York state Republican Committee's annual gala at the Hilton — the party’s first since the pandemic. He addressed a ballroom audience of about 500, mostly made up of donors and party faithful.

Abbott’s presence highlighted the GOP’s plans to double-down on immigration as a campaign issue in November's elections.

The governor is also in the midst of a high-profile clash with the Biden administration over border control and enforcement of immigration law. A case pending before the Supreme Court could decide the issues. Abbott has called his busing campaign an effort to “bring the border” to the federal government in Washington, D.C., and cities and states far from Texas.

Abbott criticized Biden’s record on border security and pitched his conservative policies as a model for New York. He also noted the 100 years of Democratic rule in the Lone Star State that eventually gave way to Republican dominance.

“I know full well from the experience that we have in Texas, the possibility of what can and should be coming your way,” Abbott said. “You can do it here.”

Abbott was greeted outside the hotel by about 20 protesters representing immigrant and progressive advocacy groups, including Make the Road NY and the Working Families Party.

“While Greg Abbott fundraises in Midtown by spewing extremism and hatred, we want to make it clear: You are not welcome here,” Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement.

A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the governor’s visit. Earlier on Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams said he’d offer the governor an opportunity to stay at one of the city’s emergency migrant shelters.

“He can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown as well,” Adams told reporters in response to a question at an unrelated event.

Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting.

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