Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed his discontent with a potential policy shift from the Biden administration that might mandate asylum-seeking migrant families to stay in Texas during their asylum evaluation. In retaliation, Abbott suggested deploying additional buses filled with migrants to the U.S. capital.
The proposed policy change, highlighted by the Los Angeles Times, appears to be a move by the federal government to reduce the stress on major cities due to the surge of migrants.
While the Biden administration ponders this policy, reminiscent of the Reagan years, which restricted the movement of migrant families within the U.S., Abbott remains defiant. “This tactic was attempted in the past and was overruled by the judiciary,” Abbott expressed on a platform. “We’re prepared to challenge this again and will send even more migrants to Washington D.C.”
This revised proposal implies that the federal authorities would leverage GPS systems to monitor the migrants and collaborate with local entities for their accommodation until their hearings. It’s worth noting that states other than Texas might also be impacted.
Presently, the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) system oversees migrant families’ movement to major cities using GPS, implementing curfews. The suggested modification, which requires migrants to stay in their entry state, aims to streamline locating them if their asylum applications are denied, facilitating their deportation.
This potential shift in policy is reminiscent of the Reagan era’s strategy in the late 1980s, wherein asylum-seekers were required to stay where they entered the U.S. until their cases were reviewed.
Facing an upsurge of migrants from its southern border, Texas has been exploring measures to manage the situation more efficiently.
Earlier this week, Abbott shared that since August 2022, Texas has transported over 35,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, with New York City receiving over 13,300 of them.
New York City’s Mayor, Eric Adams, highlighted the challenges posed by the escalating migrant numbers. “This situation could drastically alter New York City’s dynamics,” Adams commented. “The current scenario affects everyone. Last year I warned about the impact when we received 15,000 migrants, and now with a count of 110,000, the essence of the city is at stake.”
Furthermore, The Washington Post recently revealed that a record 91,000 migrants as part of family groups were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol in August for illegal entry. This surpassed the previous record of roughly 84,500 from May 2019.
