A 12th bus filled with illegal immigrants arrived in Los Angeles on Monday after the city council voted to take legal action against Texas over the Lone Star State’s busing program.
The latest bus, carrying 42 illegal immigrants of various nationalities, rolled into Union Station at approximately 7:15 a.m. The passengers on board hailed from Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Russia, and Venezuela, reported Fox News.
According to Zach Seidle, the city’s deputy mayor of communications and spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles had prepared for the arrival.
“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,” Mr. Seidle said in a statement. “As we have before, when we became aware of the bus yesterday, we activated our plan.”
The Monday arrival follows the unanimous decision by the Los Angeles City Council to pursue legal action and a criminal probe against Texas over its program of busing illegal immigrants away from border communities.
On Aug. 30, councilmembers endorsed a motion that requested the City Attorney’s Office to initiate an investigation into potential criminal actions by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, stemming from the transportation of 42 illegal immigrants on a 23-hour bus journey to downtown Los Angeles in June.
Councilmembers have raised concerns about the legality of the program and its impact on the city. The council voted to pursue legal action after the 11th busload of illegal immigrants arrived last week.
“LA City Council voted unanimously in June to become a sanctuary city. Less than 3 months later, they can’t handle it,” Mr. Abbott said on Sept. 1, in reference to a news article about the Los Angeles City Council’s move. “LA experiences a fraction of what overwhelmed Texas border towns face DAILY. Don’t threaten Texas—tell Biden to secure the border.”
To date, Mr. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star program has transported a total of 440 people to Los Angeles since the buses began arriving on June 14, Mr. Abbott’s spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris confirmed.
Operation Lone Star is a cooperative mission conducted jointly by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department along the southern border that separates Texas from Mexico.
This initiative has sent more than 30,000 illegal immigrants to various Democrat-led cities across the United States, including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to respond to this border crisis and help our overwhelmed border communities,” Mr. Mahaleris said on Sept. 1 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr. Abbott’s office has consistently pointed to Los Angeles’s status as a sanctuary city as a key reason for directing illegal immigrants there. They noted that illegal immigrants on the buses sign a multi-language consent waiver indicating their intended destination.
The Texas governor has maintained his position, citing the overwhelming conditions in Texas’s border region due to migrants crossing the Mexican border illegally.
After the LA City Council voted to pursue legal action against Texas, Mr. Mahaleris accused them of hypocrisy, saying they “unanimously voted to become a sanctuary city, welcoming migrants to the city.” He emphasized that the program busing illegal immigrants from Texas to sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles began last year to provide relief for “overrun and overwhelmed border communities.”
“Instead of complaining about dealing with a fraction of the border crisis our small border towns deal with every day, the City Council should call on President Biden to take immediate action to secure the border—something the President continues failing to do,” Mr. Mahaleris added.
