Several dozen migrants unexpectedly arrived at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington over the Christmas weekend, according to numerous immigrant aid groups.
The migrants, which totaled up to 130 in total, were dropped off amid freezing temps that have hampered down on the eastern part of the U.S. They arrived on buses with the authorization of Texas officials, Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, a relief agency working with the city of Washington, D.C, told Reuters.
Laborde added that several aid groups were contacted about their arrival and that they were prepared to hand out blankets before sending them to a local church in the nation’s capital.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding whether his state ordered for the migrants to be delivered to the VP’s home.
The Republican governor has been known to be a staunch adversary of the Biden administration’s immigration policies. The migrants’ arrival comes on the heels of other Republican-led states sending the families – primarily from the southern border – to Democratic-led cities across the U.S.
In 2021, the administration announced the US Citizenship Act, which would “provide an earned path to citizenship, to address the root causes of migration and responsibly manage the southern border, and to reform the immigrant visa system, and for other purposes.”
In the past, Texas has sent thousands of migrants to parts of Washington, New York and Chicago. Analysts say the move is a “stunt” to voice their opinion against immigrants crossing the border and entering the U.S.
“Lately, what we’ve been seeing is an increase in people from Ecuador and Colombia,” Laborde said. Previously, many Venezuelans had been arriving by bus,” she added.
“Many of the most recent arrivals are now attempting to go to New York or New Jersey where they have relatives or other community support,” Laborde told Reuters.
