A Democratic mayor in Texas has pushed back on claims that illegal immigrants are being lied to when they are bussed to sanctuary cities, and said she thinks many are grateful for the ride further into the United States.
Yolanda Ramon, mayor pro-tem of Eagle Pass, Texas, said migrants she’s met who have crossed into the US are often just looking for get further away from the border and would appreciate the help getting there.
She also said they often are unaware of how far other cities are once they arrive in the country, which is why they’re often ready to take up offers of free transportation to northern cities.
‘I can tell you one thing, they’re not being lied to. You run into them at the gas station, they’ll tell you I just want to go somewhere. I just want to go further up north,’ Ramon said.
Yolanda Ramon, mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, says illegal immigrants are thankful for the rides to sanctuary cities that Republican politicians are providing them
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bussed approximately 10,000 migrants to Democratic sanctuary cities, and New York has had 15,500 migrants show up in the city recently
A group of nearly 50 migrants from Venezuela who were flown to the island of Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
‘They don’t even know where they’re at sometimes,’ she continued. ‘They’ll ask how far is San Antonio? How far is Houston? How far is New York?’
She told Fox News that illegal immigration is the most ‘pressing issue’ in the city of Eagle Pass, which lies directly on the US-Mexico border.
Ramon’s comments come as the border between US and Mexico sees increased strain from an influx of immigrants, and many Republican politicians have taken to bussing or flying illegal immigrants into Democratic sanctuary cities.
Ramon called the situation ‘comical,’ adding there is no doubt that illegal immigrants ‘know where they’re going’ when they’re offered rides to those cities.
‘Of course they know where they’re going otherwise they wouldn’t be going,’ Ramon said.
She said immigrants are likely thinking, ‘You know what, if I don’t have to walk 200 miles to San Antonio, and I can get on a bus and that bus will take me closer to where I want to go to, let me get on that bus.’
Democratic leadership has struggled to deal with the immigrants appearing in their cities; New York City Mayor Eric Adams was recently forced to use a cruise ship as a processing center for immigrants.
Texas has bussed more than 10,000 migrants to blue cities, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey have followed suit.
In a particularly brazen act, DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelan migrants to the Democratic vacation hideaway of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
About 15,500 migrants have made their way to New York according to City Hall estimates, with Adams predicting a swell of 75,000 which would strain the shelter system to ‘breaking point.’
In the past 11 months, border officials in the United States have arrested more than two million illegal immigrants at the southern border
‘Of course they know where they’re going otherwise they wouldn’t be going,’ Ramon said of migrants who are bussed or flown to other cities
In the past 11 months, border officials in the United States have arrested more than 2 million illegal immigrants at the southern border, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP encountered 203,597 migrants at the southern border in August alone, which is a slight uptick from the crossings in July.
Since October 2021, CBP has recorded encountering 2,150,639 migrants who have crossed over the border from Mexico – and since the start of Biden’s time in office has had run-ins with more than 3.5 million.
Republicans have chastised the Biden administration for ignoring the prevailing crisis, especially as the number of deaths along the border have reached record-breaking numbers.
In September, preliminary figures show that 30 migrants have died along the border – adding to the total toll of 782 deaths in 2022.