A second bus carrying migrants from a Texas border city arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, marking the second instance within a span of less than three weeks.
As reported by CBS News, the office of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was not officially informed but became aware on Friday of the bus that had been dispatched from Brownsville, Texas, to L.A. Union Station.
Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement that the City of Los Angeles upholds the values of treating everyone with respect and dignity and will continue to do so.
The bus reached its destination at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Friday, and the 41 asylum-seekers on board were greeted by a collective of faith-based and immigrant rights organizations. A statement from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights confirmed that the bus carried eleven children.
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The asylum seekers hailed from various countries, including Cuba, Belize, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Upon arrival, they received essential supplies such as water, food, clothing, and initial legal immigration assistance at St. Anthony’s Croatian Parish Center and church.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the coalition, mentioned that the situation this time seemed less stressful and chaotic compared to the previous instance. He noted that most individuals were picked up by their families in the area and appeared to have been provided with sandwiches and water, unlike the first time.
Not all of the migrants intended to stay in Los Angeles, as six individuals needed to travel to other destinations such as Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, and Oakland, according to Cabrera.
This comes after a previous incident on June 14, when a bus carrying 42 migrants from Texas arrived in L.A. Many of the migrants originated from Latin American countries, including Honduras and Venezuela, and they were not provided with water or food. Mayor Bass had expressed the city’s determination not to be influenced by “petty politicians playing with human lives” at that time.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott had stated that he sent the initial bus to L.A. because California had declared itself a “sanctuary” for immigrants, extending protections to individuals residing in the country illegally. It remains unclear whether Abbott sent the most recent bus, as his office did not respond to a phone message immediately.
In early June, on two separate occasions, groups of more than a dozen migrants were flown from California’s capital city of Sacramento after passing through Texas. Both flights were organized by the administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
During the first incident on June 3, a group of 16 immigrants were left outside a Sacramento church with only a backpack’s worth of belongings each. California Attorney General Rob Bonta strongly condemned the act, stating that “state-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice; it is immoral and disgusting.” He added that his office was investigating whether criminal or civil charges were warranted.
Since last year, both DeSantis and Abbott have regularly transported migrants to cities governed by Democrats, including New York City and Washington, D.C. Critics have denounced these actions as inhumane political stunts.
