Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) told Axios that while the busloads of processed and released migrants coming from border states to her sanctuary city have been manageable so far, she is worried states like Texas or Florida could start sending migrants on planes.
Bass said Los Angeles welcomes immigrants but "I am fearful that any day, planes could start coming."
She criticized Governor Greg Abbott's busing program that sent a bus towards the city when Hurricane Hillary was approaching. The day the bus arrived to its final destination, the storm was long gone.
When asked if border states sending migrants to cities like Los Angeles to embarrass them, Bass wholeheartedly agreed.
"Oh I mean it's very clear. What they're trying to do is destabilize cities [by sending migrants]. It's Chicago, it's Washington, D.C., it's New York. It's the narrative that these are Democratic-run cities and that we don't know how to govern and that everything is chaotic here," she said, adding, "This is just setting the stage for the presidential election next year."
Mayor Karen Bass says LA welcomes migrants but she’s scared if planes sent by border states start arriving.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 15, 2023
“What they’re trying to do is destabilize cities [by sending migrants]…It’s the narrative that these are Democratic-run cities and that we don’t know how to govern and… pic.twitter.com/Xy4hp2MwpE
ABC 7 reported a 13th bus of migrants arrived from Texas last Saturday. Texas, under Operation Lone Star, has been sending buses to Los Angeles since June. Almost 500 people have arrived to the city through Operation Lone Star's busing program.
"One bus with migrants on board from Texas arrived around 8:55 AM PT today at Union Station," said Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications. "This is the thirteenth bus that has arrived. The city has continued to work with city departments, the county, and a coalition of nonprofit organizations, in addition to our faith partners, to execute a plan set in place earlier this year. As we have before, when we became aware of the bus yesterday, we activated our plan."