President Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is drafting plans to drop off migrants in American towns hours past the U.S.-Mexico border, Republican lawmakers say.
The potential policy is one way DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is seeking to ease the influx of migrants to U.S. border towns, according to a report from the New York Post. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, sent a letter to Mayorkas expressing his concern about the government sending waves of migrants to San Angelo, Texas, a town he represents.
"San Angelo is a welcoming community, but the locality has not volunteered for this mission, nor are they responsible for the burdens of the border crisis," Pfluger wrote in the letter.
"This situation is a direct result of DHS’ shortsighted policies that encourage more illegal immigration and the agency’s failure to establish operational control of the southern border," he added.
Pfluger added that he only found out about the DHS plans after local law enforcement in San Angelo informed him.
The potential bus campaign comes months after Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent busses of migrants to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in protest against the Biden administration's immigration policies.
"Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive strategy to secure our border—not President Biden's lackluster leadership," Abbott said in a statement at the time. "As the federal government continues to roll back commonsense policies that once kept our communities safe, our local law enforcement has stepped up to protect Texans from dangerous criminals, deadly drugs, and illegal contraband flooding into the Lone Star State."
To date, Abbott has sent roughly 65 busses of migrants to the U.S. capital, amounting to more than 2,000 people.
