- Migrants have been thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the free charter bus ride to Washington D.C.
- Abbott earlier this month began to send migrants to the nation's capital, in an attempt to "bring the border" to Biden.
- But the migrants and advocates say Abbott's plan is unintentionally helpful.
Migrants are thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the free charter bus ride to Washington DC after they cross the border into Texas as immigration advocates say the move is actually helping to resettle immigrants.
"I am very thankful to the governor," Reydel Grau, a Cuban man who traveled nearly a month to reach the US, told the New York Times. "His help is very much welcomed."
Earlier this month, Abbott announced a plan to ship migrants entering the US in Texas to Washington DC to protest the Biden administration's immigration policies as crossings at the border reach record highs.
"We are sending the border to Biden," Abbott told Fox News last week.
The Texas governor added in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that he would also start busing migrants to President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware if it becomes too much in the nation's capital.
But instead of overwhelming Washington, migrants are grateful to Abbott for the free ride to the East Coast.
Migrants are able to volunteer to take the approximately 30-hour bus trip east on chartered buses, according to the Texas Tribune.
One migrant who was on the first bus from Texas told the Tribune she was "very thankful for all the help that has been given" to her family. She said they did not have enough money to make it from Texas to New York.
Santo Linarte López, a migrant from Nicaragua told the Times he did not really understand why Abbott was paying for him to get to DC, but he was grateful as his final destination in the States was North Carolina.
Immigration advocates initially slammed Abbott's plan as a political stunt.
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of the Maryland-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, called the busing a "shameless publicity stunt" earlier this month and said migrants were being used as "political pawns," according to CBS News.
But advocates told the Times that Abbott's new program is helping them welcome the busloads of people with open arms.
"In a way, it's actually perfect," said Bilal Askaryar, a spokesman for Welcome With Dignity, a collective of about 100 local and national groups that help migrants, told the Times. "Unintentionally, Governor Abbott sent them to one of the best places in the nation to welcome people. There's all these advocates here who understand the system and understand the needs ... The reality is that we're really well prepared and really excited to welcome these people."
Abbott has so far bussed about 200 migrants to DC since the program began on April 13.
While the White House has yet to respond, Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently said it's "nice the State of Texas is helping them get to their final destination."
Abbott's protest comes as the Biden Administration plans to end Title 42 — a pandemic-era immigration regulation restricting migrants from crossing the border — at the end of May.