Texas Governor Greg Abbott received a standing ovation after his speech at the New York Republican State Committee Annual Gala on April 4.
The dinner event took place at the Hilton Hotel on 6th Avenue in Manhattan.
“For the past 25 years, only Republicans were elected to statewide offices in the state of Texas,” Mr. Abbott told the audience.
“You can do it here. There’s no reason why New York should not also have a governor who believes not only in legal immigration but also stands against illegal immigration into the United States of America.”
Gov. George Pataki was the last Republican since 1923 to serve as New York governor after Thomas E. Dewey and Nelson Rockefeller.
Previously, Texas was a Democrat-majority state for 100 years, according to Mr. Abbott.
“You can have elected officials who cut taxes, cut through red tape regulations, restore the luster of the economy of New York, and turn New York into the land of opportunity that Texas is right now,” Mr. Abbott said.
The state of Texas has transported more than 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C., since April 2022 and 37,100 to New York City since August 2022.
Originally, Mr. Abbott said he was only busing migrants to the nation’s capital but then New York City Mayor Eric Adams began criticizing him for sending them to New York City even though Mr. Abbott denied sending migrants to New York.
“We told the mayor’s office that it was Joe Biden sending them to New York, but the criticism kept coming despite our denial, so after a while, I figured, I want to get credit for the criticism and thus began the busing of illegal immigrants to the sanctuary city of New York City,” Mr. Abbott added.
Mr. Abbott also explained to the audience how he became disabled.
At 26 years old, an accident occurred while he was jogging, and he has been in a wheelchair ever since.
“A huge oak tree far taller than the ceiling in this room crashed down on my back and fractured my vertebrae and spinal cord, leaving me immediately paralyzed and never able to walk again,” he said.
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik attended along with former gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, former Congressional candidate Mazi Pilip, former U.S. Senate candidate Joe Pinion, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and other GOP politicians and elected officials.
After thanking Mr. Abbott, Ms. Stefanik criticized U.S. President Joe Biden’s call for a ceasefire this week as an attempt to force Israel to surrender to Hamas terrorists.
The Associated Press reported that Mr. Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call this week that citizens and aid workers need to be protected or else there will be financial consequences.
“Republicans will continue to stand through everything in our power to stand with our most precious ally Israel and we'll fight every day to do so from the halls of Congress,” Ms. Stefanik said during her speech.
Jack Dorin attends the 2024 New York Republican State Committee Annual Gala on April 4, 2024. Juliette Fairley/Epoch Times
Jacques Dorin, who attended the gala, said he loved everything Mr. Abbott said except for one comment.
“He stated that after he had heard people were reporting that the immigrants were being sent here on his behalf, that he wasn’t doing that, but then he started doing it, and I don’t like that,” Mr. Dorin told The Epoch Times. “Just because people are saying a rumor, you don’t need to make it true.”
Henry Grullon, 54, a Bronx-based Republican, found Mr. Abbott’s speech inspiring.
“Transporting migrants to New York from Texas shows us what’s happening at the border, and being a sanctuary city, we have no choice,” Mr. Grullon told The Epoch Times.
“We have to make things happen. Look how bad things are really getting.”
Henry Grullon attends the 2024 New York Republican State Committee Annual Gala on April 4, 2024. Juliette Fairley/Epoch Times
Republican Harry Demell, 72, a retired immigration lawyer in Manhattan, said migrants being allowed into the United States are hurting the wages of the same American people that the Democrat Party claims they want to help the most.
Harry Demell attends the 2024 New York Republican State Committee Annual Gala on April 4, 2024. Juliette Fairley/Epoch Times
“I’m pro-immigration,” Mr. Demell told The Epoch Times. “I spent my lifetime helping people and companies come to the United States. I believe immigration is the lifeblood of the United States. I also believe that we’re in a process right now of anarchy. The Biden administration has failed America.”
Juliette Fairley
Freelance reporter
Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at [email protected]
