Friday 5 August 2022 09:40 PM Karine Jean-Pierre says White House is helping New York and DC with migrants ... trends now
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday that President Joe Biden’s administration is helping New York and Washington D.C. with the migrants populations that have arrived from Texas.
‘FEMA is also as famous providing support, including through grant funding, so we are helping in that regard,’ she said in response to a question from DailyMail.com.
The federal agency is using funds from its Emergency Shelter and Food Program to help cities provide shelter and services to the immigrants after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, started to send busloads of them from the Lone Star state up the East Coast.
Jean-Pierre accused Abbott of using the migrants as a ‘stunt’ and a ‘political ploy.’
‘This is what he's been doing and it's shameful,’ she said.
New York City received its first busload of migrants from the country’s southern border on Friday. Washington D.C., in the last few weeks, has had two to four, sometimes five bus loads of migrants arriving daily. The level of influx is exhausting local and volunteer resources.
But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin denied a request from Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s request for the National Guard to assist with migrants.
A Defense Department spokesperson said such a move could hurt the readiness status of the D.C. National Guard, which reports to the secretary of defense, and noted the capital city is receiving funds from FEMA.
"We have determined providing this support would negatively impact the readiness of the DCNG and have negative effects on the organization and members,’ the spokesperson said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden’s administration is helping New York and Washington D.C. with the migrants populations that have arrived from Texas
Washington D.C., in the last few weeks, has had two to four, sometimes five bus loads of migrants arriving daily
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin denied a request from Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (above) request for the National Guard to assist with migrants
Bertilio Rosale (left) and Jose Rodriguez (right) arrive at New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal after their almost 2,000-mile trip from New York. Rodriguez, 38, told DailyMail.com he chose New York because it has the 'best opportunities' of the options he was given when he crossed the border
Bowser told reporters on Friday that she wants to continue to work with the Pentagon to ensure political considerations ‘are not a part of their decision.’
She previously said the city received a $1 million grant from FEMA.
Jean-Pierre said the White House also is working with Bowser.
‘We have had constructive conversations with Mayor Bowser and her team. We will continue to do that we are committed to working with them as we do with all other elected officials as well,’ she said.
On Friday a busload of migrants was dropped off at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan after making the almost 2,000-mile trip from the border that lasted days.
A group of charity workers and volunteers greeted the roughly 50 migrants, who were mostly men, before they ventured into the city for hotels or shelters.
One of the arrivals Jose Rodriguez, 38, told DailyMail.com he chose New York because it has the 'best opportunities' of the options he was given when he crossed the border.
He added that the group wasn't allowed to leave a building in Texas building they were housed in and he lost all of his documents in his journey over the Rio Grande.
Bertilio Rosale, 54, also told DailyMail.com on arrival: 'I want to see the Statue of Liberty and the rest of the city. There are more job opportunities here, I will do anything I can. The bus here was good, we have all come from all over.'
The first footage of the bus arriving in New York at 6.30am Friday was captured by Fox News.
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Charity workers and volunteers met the migrants after their journey to help them get to shelters or hotels in New York
The Big Apple now joins Washington D.C. as a drop-off location for migrants who have recently crossed from Central America, have been processed and are awaiting their immigration court dates
The first bus of migrants sent from Texas by Governor Greg Abbott arrived in New York City on Friday morning at around 6.30
Abbott said he was sending migrants to other cities because Texas can't handle the influx at the border.
'Because of President Biden's continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe,' said Governor Abbott.
'In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city.
'I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.'
Abbott also invited New York Mayor Eric Adams and Bowser to visit the border and see the crisis first hand, but Adams declined.
A day earlier Abbott spoke at a conservative conference in Dallas describing how he came up with the idea after speaking to leaders in Uvalde and Del Rio who said they couldn't cope with the number of arrivals.
'And they were talking about getting the illegal immigrants that border patrol had dropped off into their communities that they were incapable of dealing with, and them actually busing them to San Antonio,' he told the Conservative Political Action Conference.
'I said don't do that. I have a better idea.
The group was dropped off at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan after making the almost 2,000-mile trip from the border in footage captured by Fox News
'We're gonna bust him all the way to Washington D.C.
'We deal with that number every single day, I got one thing to tell you and to tell them there are more buses on the way as we gather at this conference today.'
The audience responded with whoops and cheers, before Abbott plugged a crowd-funding website that helps pay for the buses.
Last Monday, Adams declared a city-wide emergency and called on the federal government to step in as a major influx of migrants strains New York City's shelter system.
Roughly 4,000 asylum-seekers have come to NYC since May, Adams' office stated.
'New York is a city of immigrants, and we will always welcome newcomers with open arms. Over the past two months, we have seen a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving in our city's shelter system,' Adams said in a statement.
A group of charity workers and volunteers greeted the roughly 50 migrants, who were mostly men, before they ventured into the city
Last Monday, Adams declared a city-wide emergency and called on the federal government to step in as a major influx of migrants strains New York City's shelter system
Adams has warned Republican states against sending the buses north. Greg Abbott has said the buses are an opportunity for Democrat-run cities to see the border crisis first hand
He had been calling the Biden administration for help since at least last month.
Many of the group arriving today had been told less than 24 hours before that they were being moved, with many losing any form of identification when crossing the river.
Clutching bags given to them by charities, the groups were spilt off with the men reportedly sent to men's only shelters across the city.
Adams pledged in the Monday statement that he will 'continue to work with federal and state partners to procure additional financial
