Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine is investigating whether Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and governors of other border states deceived the illegal migrants they transported to Democratic-run cities throughout the north, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune reported Friday.
"[The migrants] have talked persuasively about being misled, with talk about promised services," Racine, a Democrat, said in the report, adding that several federal and civil rights laws may have been violated, and that taxpayer money may have been misused.
He also called the decision by Abbott, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, to send illegals crossing the southern border to cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, "a political stunt."
According to the report, the border state governors have moved more than 12,000 illegal migrants from the south to northern states and cities, where local officials complain they do not have the resources to deal with the surge.
Abbott’s press secretary, Renae Eze, told the news outlets that there was no "trickery" involved in the transports, which included 8,200 people on 195 buses to Washington, 3,200 to New York City on more than 60 buses, and 920 to Chicago, Illinois, on more than 15 buses.
Abbott sent one bus to Vice President Kamala Harris' home in Washington, the governor confirmed in a social media post.
"We’re sending migrants to her backyard to call on the [President Joe] Biden Administration to do its job and secure the border," Abbott posted on Twitter Sept. 15.
Both Washington’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams declared states of emergency in their respective cities in early September and early October, respectively, due to the surge of migrants.
"This is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South America and is being accelerated by American political dynamics," Adams said on Oct. 7. "Thousands of asylum seekers have been bused into New York City and simply dropped off, without notice, coordination, or care — and more are arriving every day."
Bowser, who declared an emergency in D.C. almost a month earlier, requested help from the National Guard to deal with the influx.
"D.C. is not a border town, but we will not stand by and let the actions of those trying to create instability for people seeking a better way of life," Bowser said in a statement Sept. 8. “As I have said before, what our country needs is for Congress to fix the immigration system. We also encourage the Administration to fulfill the requests of cities and states that are receiving buses and planes with no coordination or notification from those sending them.
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