Eric Gay/AP
Similar to Texas Governor Greg Abbott You might be able to use a dictionary.
why? That’s because the Republican appeared on Fox News on Sunday and accused President Joe Biden of “using illegal immigrants as political pawns.” And given his own record, it’s unclear whether he understands the meaning of that word.
Chessboards aside, Oxford Languages says that a pawn is “a person used by another for his own purposes.” This, of course, describes how Abbott himself treated immigrants who crossed the border into Texas.
Since 2022, he has bused thousands of immigrants to Democratic-controlled New York City and Washington, D.C. More than 150,000 immigrants have since arrived in New York, creating a humanitarian crisis that the city government has struggled to adequately respond to, leaving many behind. They endure harsh conditions and are confined to shelters.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams sued more than a dozen charter bus contractors who helped transport migrants at Mr. Abbott’s direction, accusing them of violating the city’s social services law. A “state” contribution was made to New York City to cover the resulting costs. Last month, one bus company agreed in court papers to stop transporting migrants from the southern border into the city. politiko report.
But this week, during a Republican fundraiser in New York, Mr. Abbott made it clear that he has no intention of stopping the flow of immigrants to New York for his own purposes, at least as long as Mr. Biden is president. “We must keep this process going until next November when we have a new president who will secure America’s borders,” the governor told the rally, according to the report. gothamist.
Late last year, Mr. Abbott signed legislation that makes illegal immigration into Texas a state crime and allows state law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants anywhere within Texas’ borders. The issue has been embroiled in litigation, with the Biden administration’s Justice Department arguing that the law violates the Constitution, which “gives the federal government authority to regulate immigration and control the border.”
It’s not difficult to identify the reasons behind Mr. Abbott’s rhetoric. Strict anti-immigrant policies, such as separating children from their parents, are the cornerstone of today’s Republican Party. actually There appears to be an interest in funding border security, given that Republican lawmakers recently blocked a bipartisan bill aimed at doing just that.
Mr. Abbott’s threat to continue busing immigrants north may further strengthen his anti-immigrant credentials, but it pales in comparison to other statements he made earlier this year. As I reported in January, he told a right-wing radio host: “The one thing we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who are coming across the border — because of course the Biden administration is going to charge us with murder.”
it is This is the act of using so-called immigrants as political pawns.
