FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 

Media Contact: media@theyoungcenter.org 

Chicago, IL — Over the past several months, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has doubled down on his anti-immigrant agenda and spent over $12 million dollars to bus recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers, including children, to Washington D.C., New York City, and most recently Chicago. His latest actions targeting immigrant communities and children are far from new. In the past, Governor Abbott has tried to challenge the CDC’s decision to exempt unaccompanied children from Title 42, arguing that unaccompanied children should be denied access to seek protection at the border, and revoked state licenses for facilities in Texas housing unaccompanied children, making them no longer subject to critical safety standards and monitoring. 

Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey has also joined Governor Abbott’s busing scheme, busing nearly 1,600 people to D.C. It’s estimated that Governors Abbott and Ducey have collectively bused more than 11,000 people to the three cities. 

Gladis Molina Alt, Executive Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, said: 

“Governor Abbott’s decision to bus young children and their families for days-long trips, without adequate food, water, or other resources, is the latest of his anti-immigrant political stunts that attack, harm, and dehumanize immigrant communities in need. Texas government officials could spend millions of dollars to meet the real needs of their local communities rather than maliciously rounding up children and vulnerable groups, many of whom are fleeing unimaginable violence. The U.S. has a moral and legal responsibility to honor everyone’s right to seek asylum and to protect the safety of children. This is a critical moment for federal officials to coordinate with Chicago, New York, D.C., and any other cities where migrants are being relocated, and provide much-needed funding to ensure organizations on the ground have the resources they need to support migrants.” 

Mary Miller Flowers, Senior Policy Analyst for Children Protection of the Young Center, said: 

“Governors Abbott and Ducey have used immigrant families as political pawns, cruelly placing them and their loved ones on buses without sufficient food, water, or medical assistance and with no coordination with the cities where they’re arriving. Children and families seeking asylum in the U.S. should be able to travel to where they need to be in a coordinated, safe, and humane manner. While Governors Abbott and Ducey continue to heartlessly attack immigrants, we have seen an outpouring of compassion, kindness, and support from mutual aid groups, volunteers, and community members in NYC, D.C. and Chicago who are stepping up to welcome immigrants. States and municipalities must follow the lead of those on the ground supporting immigrants to ensure that we can welcome people seeking safety with dignity and humanity.” 

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The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first. For press inquiries, please contact Anabel Mendoza at media@theyoungcenter.org