Democratic mayor of El Paso on bussing migrants: ‘Take the politics out of this’
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser explains why he is bussing migrants to sanctuary cities across the U.S. and how his city is handling the border crisis.
With border crossings surging to at least 2 million in fiscal year 2022, a Texas Democratic mayor is facilitating the bussing of migrants to sanctuary cities.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser joined "Fox & Friends" Wednesday to share why his city organizes migrant buses to New York City and other areas.
"We have a lot of people coming across, but they're not coming to El Paso. They're coming to the United States," Leeser said. "And it's important that we sit there and look and see where they want to go."
Republican governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis have faced harsh criticism from Democrats and the Biden administration for sending migrants to liberal cities, with critics even labeling their actions as "human trafficking."
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Bexar County, Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar launched a criminal investigation into a migrant flight to Martha's Vineyard organized by DeSantis last week.
In contrast, Leeser's move has been all but ignored by Democrats and liberal media outlets who are focusing criticism against the GOP governors.
Migrants gather to received donated clothes near a bus station after being released from U.S. Border Patrol custody in El Paso, Texas, U.S., September 17, 2022. (Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)
Leeser told host Steve Doocy that El Paso is committed to working with the migrants and non-governmental organizations to coordinate travel for immigrants to sanctuary cities like New York City.
El Paso, like other border cities, is overwhelmed by the number of migrants flooding their streets. Records show the city saw more than 250,000 migrant encounters this year alone.
"This is a great city that's opened its arms to help people, to make sure they're fed, make sure they have a right to their next destination," Leeser said.
Last week, the director of homeless shelters in the El Paso area said the surge of migrants has led to overcrowding and they're having to turn people away in some cases.
"It's very, very important that we treat people the way we want to be treated," Leeser said.
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"But the most important part is let's go ahead and forget about Democrats' attitude about Republicans', and let's talk about what do we do right? Let's take the politics out of it."
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