Migrants bused from Texas to LA amid Tropical Storm Hilary in move Mayor Bass calls 'despicable act'
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Mayor Karen Bass is blasting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after a group of migrants were sent from his state by bus to Los Angeles as the city braced for Tropical Storm Hilary.
The bus departed from Brownsville, Texas Sunday as L.A. city officials warned Angelenos to brace for the peak impact of Tropical Storm Hilary. The bus arrived around 6:45 p.m. Monday at Union Station, Bass said.
This is the ninth bus sent to L.A. from Texas since June 14.
"It is evil to endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that at the time was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning," Bass said in a statement. "As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm, the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions.
"If anybody understands the danger of hurricanes and thunderstorms, it's the Governor of Texas - who has to deal with this threat on an annual basis. This is a despicable act beyond politics."
Bass called the move "evil."
Onboard were 37 asylum seekers, including 16 children, according to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. The migrants' countries of origin included Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Ecuador.
Almost all asylum seekers have relatives, loved ones, or sponsors in California, according to the L.A. Welcomes Collective, a coalition of nonprofit groups.
Upon arrival at Union Station, migrants were provided urgent humanitarian support services such as food, clothing, hygiene kits, health checkups, and immigration-specific legal orientations.
The L.A. Welcomes Collective also said it facilitated reunions with family members, loved ones, and sponsors residing in the region.
Abbott has been orchestrating the buses from Brownsville to California, saying Texas' border region is "overwhelmed" by immigrants crossing the Mexican border.
"Texas' small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden's refusal to secure the border," Abbott said in a statement after the first bus arrived in L.A. in June.
Although the bus that arrived Monday was believed to be from Brownsville, whether Abbott's office was involved in sending it was not immediately confirmed.
City News Service contributed to this report.
