Texas Buses Carrying Migrants Arrive in Chicago

    Image copyright: Chicago Tribune [via AP]

    The Facts

    • Two buses carrying migrants from Texas arrived at Chicago's Union Station on Wed. night, with many of the estimated 80 to 100 people on the buses - 20 to 30 of whom were small children - reportedly from Venezuela.

    • The buses - which were transporting migrants who had illegally crossed the southern border - were sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his program to share the surge of migrants with Democratic-run cities.


    The Spin

    Democratic narrative

    Abbott is using asylum seekers as political pawns in his misguided attempt to oppose Biden's immigration policies and foment anti-immigrant sentiment. While Democrat-run cities should continue to welcome asylum seekers, it's also important to denounce this behavior.

    Republican narrative

    The US is currently facing a border crisis, and Abbott's bus policy is providing much-needed relief to Texas, which is bearing the brunt of the massive influx of migrants. This isn't a provocation, but rather an attempt to share the burden with liberal cities and lawmakers who have fuelled the migration wave.

    Progressive narrative

    In an attempt to antagonize Democrats and slow the number of border crossings, Abbott is ironically establishing one of the nation's most generous publicly funded services to assist immigrants entering the country, which will only have the opposite effect. This so-called program clearly wasn't well thought out.


    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

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