Greg Abbott Pushes Back on White House Criticism After Busing Illegal Aliens to VP’s Home on Christmas Eve

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has defended busing more illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve after the White House issued a rebuke.

Texas sent three busloads of illegal aliens to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence on Christmas Eve when temperatures were in the teens, prompting the White House on Sunday to declare it a “cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt.”

Abbott redirected the blame for what he called an “untenable crisis” to President Joe Biden’s “open border policies.”

Renae Eze, Abbott’s spokesperson, said the illegal aliens signed voluntary consent waivers provided in multiple languages upon boarding, agreeing to the destination.

“The White House is full of a bunch of hypocrites, led by the Hypocrite-in-Chief who has been flying planeloads of migrants across the country and oftentimes in the cover of night,” Eze said in a statement.

The federal government is processing and “dumping” illegal aliens in Texas border towns like El Paso, which recently declared a state of emergency, Eze said.

“Instead of their hypocritical complaints about Texas providing much-needed relief to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities, President Biden and Border Czar Harris need to step up and do their jobs to secure the border-something they continue failing to do,” Eze added.

Texas has now sent over 15,900 illegal immigrants to predominantly Democrat-run so-called sanctuary cities in an effort to deal with an influx of illegal aliens at the southern border.

“We’re providing relief to local communities overwhelmed by President Biden’s open border policies,” Abbott said.

On Dec. 20, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration had “secured more resources for the border than any president before who preceded [Biden].”

A U.S. Border Patrol agent instructs immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 19, 2022. John Moore/Getty Images

Record Arrests, Title 42

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Title 42, former President Donald Trump’s immigration and public health order, for the time being.

The Supreme Court voted 5-4 (pdf) to grant an emergency request from 19 Republican state attorneys general seeking to intervene in the rule’s defense, putting on hold a ruling by District of Colombia Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton appointee, that allowed the rule to expire last week.

The 19 states argued that lifting the policy would increase already-high border crossings. Meanwhile, Abbott pleaded with the Supreme Court and other courts to uphold the rule, warning that it would lead to an increase in illegal immigration.

The Title 42 order was first invoked in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy remained in place under Biden. The policy allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to turn asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants away for health reasons listed under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines around COVID-19.

U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended a record 2.2 million migrants at the southwest border in the fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, data shows (pdf). Under the Title 42 policy, nearly half of those arrested were quickly expelled.

Since Biden took office, roughly 4.9 million people have illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico, data shows.

In a statement following the Supreme Court decision, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration would comply with the order and prepare for the court’s review.

“At the same time, we are advancing our preparations to manage the border in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts and will continue expanding legal pathways for immigration,” Jean-Pierre stated.