In a widely criticized move in 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent busloads of 45,000 illegal immigrants to New York City. It was a decision that finally broke Adams, led his city to the brink of destruction, and caused the loyal Democratic mayor to beg for help from President Joe Biden. 

Adams was ignored as the illegals continued to test the Welcome Mat of Adam’s self-proclaimed sanctuary city. As of August 2024, the city spent approximately $308 million on its illegal immigrants. Crime has skyrocketed. Homelessness is at an all-time high.  

And no end is in sight. 

It might have been avoided, or at least delayed, had Adams kept his mouth shut. However, according to Abbott, Adams brought his city’s problem on himself by lying about the Texas governor’s plans. 

Abbott said he started sending buses of migrants to Washington, DC, to show that the Biden-Harris administration wasn’t doing enough to stop the massive number of illegal border crossings. He also wanted to help the struggling border towns by reducing the influx of illegal immigrants they encountered. 

Abbott explained that Adams began criticizing him for sending migrants to New York, even though he wasn’t doing that initially. Since the mayor kept attacking him, Abbott decided to send buses to New York because it was a sanctuary city. The first buses arrived at Port Authority Bus Terminal in early August. After that, Abbott began sending buses to other major sanctuary cities across the US, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Denver. 

Abbott’s initial plan for busing migrants was a last resort. Starting in the spring of 2022, he began sending buses of new arrivals to the nation’s capital so that the Biden-Harris administration and Congress couldn’t ignore the crisis at the Texas border. He wanted to show them the problems they created by taking the border situation to them.  

At first, he sent only buses to Washington, D.C., so that the leaders could see the chaos in person. 

By the summer of 2022, migrants were already coming to New York City, but Abbott said Texas wasn’t involved in sending them. In July, Mayor Adams said migrants were arriving on buses sent by the governments of Texas and Arizona. Both Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey denied the allegations. 

Then, in a lightbulb moment, Abbott decided that if he was getting blamed for busing migrants to New York City, he might as well do it.  

With that decision, Abbott turned immigration from a border issue into a national problem, bringing it to the doorstep of cities across America. 

Many local and federal leaders criticized the operation, calling it a racist way to use people for political reasons. Adams also called Abbott “anti-American” for putting people on buses and sending them away. 

Abbott argues that the program not only helped migrants find places to settle but also forced the country to pay attention to the crisis. He said that people began to realize this wasn’t just a Texas problem but an issue that affected the entire nation. It made people focus on immigration at all levels of government, from city councils to the president.  

But Abbott’s buses have only brought about 20% of the 210,000 migrants through the city’s shelter system since 2022. The rest came on their own. A source from City Hall said NYC officials thought that many migrants were coming to New York after being bused to Washington as part of Abbott’s program. 

Abbott has tried to lessen the impact of Biden-Harris border policies on Texas. He ordered barriers along the Texas border, especially in dangerous areas like the Rio Grande, using razor wire and buoys with sharp edges. He also had the Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety help stop and catch people crossing illegally. T 

The Biden administration has opposed his actions with legal challenges at every step. Abbott warned that “a Kamala Harris presidency could destroy Texas.”  

In June 2021, a year before Abbott’s first buses went to DC, Harris visited the southern border for the first time as vice president, stopping in El Paso. Recently, she visited the border again but only went to Arizona for some heavily criticized photo ops. 

Adams can’t stop inserting himself into the national spotlight. Abbott never targeted his city, but Adams couldn’t keep himself out of the fray.  

“Mess around and find out” is a Texas theme that Adams discovered just a little too late.