Texas' busing of migrants to Democrat-controlled cities has decreased in recent months due to fewer illegal crossings, NBC News reported.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star has played a pivotal role in lowering the number of illegal crossings. National Guard members have built razor-wire barriers and assisted border officers, and the use of drones has helped increase security.
Democrats credit President Joe Biden's election-year executive order, which partially suspends asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border when daily unauthorized crossings reach a threshold of 2,500 migrants.
The Biden administration also persuaded Mexican authorities to help police the border before November's election, The Washington Post reported.
"Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 85% thanks to our historic border mission," spokesman Andrew Maheris said, NBC News reported. "Fewer illegal crossings into Texas means there are fewer buses departing for sanctuary cities."
About 117,000 migrants were stopped in May, down from a record 300,000 in December. In June, the number dropped to about 84,000, the lowest monthly total since Biden took office in 2021.
NBC News reported the last buses sponsored by Abbott to leave the Texas towns of Laredo and Brownsville departed in January, and the number of buses leaving El Paso has fallen sharply in the past few months.
"The opportunity exists for buses every Wednesday if the need is there," Bill Irvin, of the nonprofit Opportunity Center for the Homeless, told NBC News. "And honestly, I have not had the need to use those buses from here for six to eight weeks. But that shows you how low the census has become amongst all of the shelters here in El Paso."
During last month's Republican convention in Milwaukee, Abbott said Texas will continue to bus migrants elsewhere until the border is secured.
Abbott began busing migrants to blue cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, and Denver in 2022, when the Biden administration took little action to control the migrant surge at the border.
Operation Lone Star is Abbott's $11 billion program designed to address the migrant surge in Texas.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.