Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent another busload of migrants to Los Angeles, this one arriving over the weekend and carrying 41 people who traveled from Brownsville, Texas, CNN reported.
Abbott, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been sending migrants to several cities headed by Democrats in protest of what they say are inadequate attempts by the federal government to secure the southern border.
When Abbott sent the first busload of migrants to southern California last month, he tweeted, "Small Texas border towns remain overrun & overwhelmed because Biden refuses to secure the border. LA is a city migrants seek to go to, particularly now its leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary status."
When the second busload of migrants arrived on Saturday, Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the group included 11 children.
"Independent of origin, mode of transportation or motive, Los Angeles is organized and ready to receive these asylum seekers when they get here," Salas said. "If Los Angeles is their last destination, we will ensure this is the place where they get a genuine and humane reception."
City officials told CNN that they only became aware of the upcoming arrival on Friday and mobilized by cooperating with a coalition of nonprofit organizations and faith-based groups.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' spokesperson, Zach Seidl, said in a statement, "The City of Los Angeles believes in treating everyone with respect and dignity and will do so."
Bass has called Abbott's move "a political stunt," contending that "it's despicable to use individuals like this. I think that ... if he was sincere, he would have contacted Los Angeles; he would have told us people were coming; he would have told us who the individuals were. But they didn't do that."
The migrants will receive legal help from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center if needed in court, executive director Lindsay Toczylowski told CNN.
Abbott has said he has bused more than 23,000 migrants to cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C.; New York City; Chicago; Philadelphia; Denver; and Los Angeles.