Abbott’s message on migrants is lost in his meanness
Who would get behind a plan to unload three buses filled with migrants, who were not dressed for winter weather, outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris on a frigid Christmas Eve in Washington, D.C. — and the next morning tweet a Christmas message with this wish: “May the joy of our Savior’s birth fill your hearts today and every day”?
The meanest governor in America — Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas — that’s who. Through a spokesman, Abbott appeared to confirm his involvement via a statement explaining that the migrants “willingly chose to go to Washington, D.C., having signed a voluntary consent waiver available in multiple languages upon boarding.” Just like Mary willingly gave birth in a manger because there was no room at the inn. For that perversion of
Rational people understand the border crisis has been decades in the making. It’s not Biden’s fault alone, or that of any other single individual.
the Christmas spirit, Abbott was blasted on social media and called Scrooge. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for President Biden called the busing of migrants a “cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt,” which of course caused Abbott to double down and slam Biden as the “hypocrite-in-chief.” And so it goes in the endless partisan sniping over immigration in this country.
The Texas governor takes credit for so far shipping 15,900 migrants to Washington, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, which far surpasses the 49 Venezuelan migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard last September by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. When it comes to showing the need for the rest of us to share the burden put on Texas by the influx of desperate people seeking asylum in the United States — Abbott has a point. But it’s a point lost in meanness.
In Buffalo, good Samaritans took in travelers stranded by a fierce blizzard. What if Abbott had shown true Christmas spirit by encouraging something like that? Or, at least, sent those migrants to Washington with winter coats? What if he spoke with compassion about people who flee their country because they still somehow see this one as a haven of freedom and opportunity? What if he acted to unite Americans around a plan of action, rather than divide them further by using migrants as political pawns? Sure, there’s a receptive audience for Abbott’s meaner-than-a-junkyard-dog approach. But he just won a big reelection victory. Isn’t this a good time for a different strategy when it comes to dealing with the migrants coming across the Texas border?
Last week, Abbott ordered the Texas National Guard to block migrants from crossing the border at places other than official entry points, which were basically shut down under a Donald Trump-era policy. The policy, known as Title 42, was set to expire this week, but the Supreme Court issued an order calling for it to remain in place for now.
Abbott, of course, sees any lifting of Title 42 as disastrous for Texas. So why not get behind a bipartisan immigration proposal that is hung up in Congress? It would provide a path to legalization for some 2 million undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children — the so-called “Dreamers” — in exchange for $25 billion in increased funding for the Border Patrol and border security. According to The Washington Post, one proposal under discussion would also extend Title 42 for at least a year. That doesn’t solve the long-term problem, and it certainly won’t make everyone happy. But at least it would show that our elected representatives have some capacity to confront the issue and some willingness to compromise.
Rational people understand the border crisis has been decades in the making. It’s not Biden’s fault alone, or that of any other single individual. It’s what happens when politicians play to the fears of one slice of the population and refuse to do their jobs and come up with a policy to address reality. Abbott would have more impact on the national stage if he challenged Democrats and Republicans to work together to reverse that inertia than he does by shipping fellow humans to Washington on a cold winter’s night.
He got our attention for sure, and with that attention comes contempt. If he wants compassion for what Texas confronts at the border, he will have to start showing some himself.