Immigrants from Brazil, Haiti, Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Senegal, and the Dominican Republic are en route to Washington D.C aboard a bus from Arizona. A spokesperson for Gov. Doug Ducey says they’re headed to Connecticut, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South and North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and the nation’s capital.
Ducey’s office said in a release that the state’s resources are stretched thin from the ongoing wave of immigrants crossing the Southern Border.
“With Arizona community resources under all-time demand and little action or assistance from the federal government, individuals who entered Arizona seeking asylum have the opportunity to voluntarily be transported to Washington, D.C. The transportation will include meals and onboard staffing and support,” the office said.
Governor’s office spokesman CJ Karamargin told The Center Square Thursday morning that the first bus had already arrived in Washington D.C., carrying immigrants from Uzbekistan, Angola, Congo, Cuba, Colombia, Haiti, and Venezuela. From the capital, Karamargin said they were headed for Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
“Their final destinations are a lot closer to Washington than Yuma,” Karamargin said, adding that it will not be Arizona taxpayers footing the bill.
“The cost of food, shelter, and transport are incalculable amid the crisis,” he said. “We believe that our ability to get them out of AZ and closer to what they say is their final destination is not only cost-effective but makes sense.”
The move comes weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a similar program.
“The Biden administration has been dumping off these migrants by the hundreds in local communities that do not have the ability to take care or deal with,” he told FOX News in April.
Both Ducey and Abbott have criticized President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42, a COVID-19 rule that allowed border officials to turn away migrants seeking asylum to prevent the spread of the virus. The decision has been criticized by Democrats as well, stressing that border states needed more time to prepare for the wave of incoming asylum seekers.
Since Abbott’s announcement, Texas has shipped several buses of immigrants to Washington D.C.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
