Controversial Migrant Busing Continues Blog
According to Reuter’s report, since April the state
of Texas has bused over seven thousand migrants who have come across the
southern border. The busing initially began into the city of Washington, DC, then
New York, and beginning last Wednesday, a bus of sixty newly arriving migrants
arrived in Chicago.
In April Governor Abbott of Texas stated, "Because
(President) Joe Biden is not securing the border, the state of Texas is having
to step up and spend Texas taxpayers' money doing the federal government's job."
A FOIA request revealed that the state of Texas has spent over $12 million thus
far on busing the migrants. Abbott’s office released a statement expressing,
"the
busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border
communities." It is reported that 1.8 million migrants have been arrested
at the southwestern border from October 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022.
The action has become politicized because the Republican
governors of Texas and Arizona both have bused migrants to cities run by
Democratic mayors of the mentioned cities. These three cities are known as
sanctuary cities where policies are in place to restrict local law enforcement
from cooperating with federal immigration agencies.
On the other side of the coin, the Chicago Tribune’s
headline reads, “Chicago will provide safe haven for migrants bused by Texas
Gov. Abbott. ‘They deserve our respect. They’re not cargo,’ Mayor Lightfoot
says.” The mayor has been critical of the governor for what she said were “racist,” inhumane and xenophobic acts. She
further denounced the governor for his lack of dignity and respect for the
migrants. Mayor Lightfoot has long been an advocate for immigrants’ rights.
The Tribune’s story emphasizes
the humanitarian aspects of this endeavor and highlights the outpouring of aid
from non-profit organizations, along with the support of Illinois’ Governor J.
B. Pritzker.
Mayor Lightfoot will ask for federal
assistance to help with the humanitarian efforts as Mayor Bowser of Washington,
DC and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City have done.
Hey Deb!
ReplyDeleteGreat post overall. What I found very interesting about this whole situation, in the context of mass media, is how both sides seem to be making completely opposing statements solely for the purpose of media exposure. This is fitting as the theme of your blog is the analysis of both sides of the political spectrum in the context of mass media. Neither side seems to come to the defense of their own opinions in anyway, with the accusations of racism and xenophobia made by the Chicago Mayor lacking any real response from the governors of Texas and Arizona for example. Both sides simply seem to be making hard accusations against one another whilst doing nothing to defend their own points of view. This whole situation really sums up the polarizing nature of the current media.
Hey Deb!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you for sharing.
This blog post is bringing light to a situation I believe more people should be paying attention to. I love your use of your blog title as well, especially because it offers an unbiased place for news, offering readers both sides of the "coin"!
Hi, I actually did a post similar to yours that focused on the Martha's Vineyard-DeSantis-Immigration story. I feel like topics such as this are so tricky because they bring in the argument of politics versus human rights, but you did a wonderful job at giving the facts and showing both sides of the story to make a comprehensive post. It is also interesting that Texas has spent $12 million which is the same number Florida's legislature has approved to transport immigrants as well. I wonder what's so special about 12 mill?
ReplyDeleteLink about FL Cost to Transport Immigrants: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tears-uncertainty-migrants-depart-marthas-vineyard-amid-political-standoff-2022-09-16/