Texas Home Democrat on migrant busing: ‘We want options and never theater’ – The Hill

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) stated on Sunday that lawmakers want to seek out “options” to the continuing migrant crises as an alternative of turning the state of affairs into “theater.” 

“Look, , to start with, we want options and never theater. By sending off— people off to New York and Chicago, it does carry consideration, however I— we need to focus extra on options on the border,” Cuellar informed CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan, noting that the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Division of Homeland Safety want higher instruments to implement the legislation on the southern border. 

Cuellar additionally famous the migrant struggles in his hometown of Laredo. 

“And let me point out yet another factor, Margaret, , they could get two buses a day in a few of these cities,” Cuellar stated. “Only for my hometown in Laredo, we’re sending out 21 to 26 buses a time out of Laredo, simply to provide you an concept of what’s occurring right here.” 

When Brennan requested about areas comparable to Martha’s Winery struggling to answer the inflow of migrants, Cuellar replied that migrants have to be handled as “human beings” as an alternative of “political pawns.” 

“Yeah, look, in spite of everything, the migrants are human beings, and we’ve received to deal with them like human beings which can be getting used as political pawns to get publicity,” Cuellar stated. “However on the identical time, , I signify a few of the poorest counties alongside the border within the nation.” 

Cuellar’s remarks as GOP Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida despatched buses and planes crammed with migrants to Martha’s Winery and the residence of Vice President Harris final week.

DeSantis and Abbott, together with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have been sending migrants to Democratic-run cities, comparable to New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago all through the summer season in protest of Biden’s efforts to finish Title 42,  a Trump-era coverage that blocked migrants from looking for asylum throughout the pandemic.