Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hit back at New York City Mayor Eric Adams after the Democrat criticized him for busing asylum seekers in Texas up to New York.
Adams recently suggested that he could bus New Yorkers down to Texas in order to campaign against Abbott, whom Adams described as "a global embarrassment" and "an anti-American governor that is really going against everything we stand for."
In a statement released on Friday, Abbott’s office said, "Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 292,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,400 criminal arrests, with more than 15,700 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, [the Texas Department of Public Safety] has seized over 326 million lethal doses during this border mission.
"Texas has also transported over 6,800 migrants to our nation's capital since April and over 360 migrants to New York City since last Friday. The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities."
In an interview on Fox News earlier this week, Abbott said, "Go ahead, Mayor, make my day. New York is a sanctuary city. Mayor Adams said they welcome in illegal immigrants, but now that they have to deal with the reality of it they're suddenly flummoxed and cannot handle it."
He later added, "The reason why we're sending the migrants is very simple. Local communities were overwhelmed with the thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants who have been dumped off in the communities by Border Patrol. The people who are coming across the border just continues to increase."