New York City, USA — The ongoing political tussle over immigration in the United States has taken a human toll as migrants become unwitting participants in a partisan conflict. Since March 2021, under “Operation Lone Star,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott has overseen the apprehension of over 340,000 illegal immigrants and has bused more than 16,000 migrants to cities led by Democratic administrations, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Among those affected is Venezuelan migrant Robert Gonzalez, who recounted harrowing experiences during his journey to New York. “Our basic rights were violated along the way,” Gonzalez told CGTN Stringer. “Pregnant women went days without food, those needing medical care were ignored, and processing centers lacked proper sleeping arrangements. Volunteers were unprepared to assist Spanish-speaking migrants.”
On Christmas Eve 2022, as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the holidays with her family, three buses carrying migrants arrived unannounced outside her residence in Washington, D.C. This event, reported by NPR as a “special delivery,” symbolized the escalation of the political standoff between the Biden administration and border-state Republican governors over the so-called “migrant crisis.”
According to multiple sources, including CNN, the BBC, and The Guardian, these migrants—likely sent from Texas—were dropped off in sub-zero temperatures, some clad only in T-shirts and shorts. This came after enduring days in detention centers and months traversing perilous jungles and deserts to reach the U.S. border. Their plight highlights the human cost at the center of a deeply polarized debate on immigration policy.
Reference(s):
Finding True America: Migrants become political pawns in partisan row
cgtn.com
