LOS ANGELES, California — L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued an angry statement Wednesday evening after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sent a bus with 42 migrants to her “sanctuary city.”
Bass said:
“It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games.
“This evening, more than 40 people were sent by the Governor of Texas to our City of Los Angeles.
“Shortly after I took office, I directed City Departments to begin planning in the event Los Angeles was on the receiving end of a despicable stunt that Republican Governors have grown so fond of.
“This did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us. Now, it’s time to execute our plan. Our emergency management, police, fire and other departments were able to find out about the incoming arrival while the bus was on its way and were already mobilized along with nonprofit partners before the bus arrived.
“Los Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives. We are a city that seeks to treat all people with dignity and compassion and we will continue to work closely with non-profit organizations, including the L.A. Welcomes Collective, as well as with our County, State and Federal partners.
“For everything that we do, we will continue to lock arms and we will continue to lead. And we will always put people’s health and well being over politics.”
In his own statement, Gov. Abbott said:
Governor Greg Abbott today announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to Los Angeles, California from Texas. The migrants were dropped off at L.A. Union Station this evening.
“Texas’ small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden’s refusal to secure the border,” said Governor Abbott. “Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the frontlines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.”
L.A., with a population of nearly 4 million within city limits, declared last week that it will officially become a “sanctuary city” by codifying a ban on cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. The city’s previous “sanctuary city” status had largely been symbolic.
California already is a destination of choice for millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, due to an existing Spanish-speaking population, and generous welfare benefits that include free health care.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) threatend to charge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with kidnapping for transporting a small group of migrants to Sacramento.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
