This controversial policy, aimed at alleviating the strain on Texas communities, drew the ire of mayors and governors in the affected areas. However, new data obtained by NBC News through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals a significant change: last month, Governor Abbott did not send a single busload of migrants. This development has led some to speculate that the border crisis may be subsiding. In January, Abbott dispatched 156 buses to Democratic-led cities, but the number decreased in February, only to rise again in March and April, with more than 100 buses sent each month to Chicago, Denver, and New York, according to NBC News. The numbers fell in May, with just 76 buses carrying over 3,000 migrants — a trend that accelerated in June. NBC reported that “the bus trips dropped sharply after President Joe Biden’s executive action curtailing asylum applications took effect in early June and then kept falling because there were not enough migrants to fill the buses.” While Biden did sign an executive order aimed at reducing illegal border crossings, Texas's decline in migrant transportation coincides with two significant policy shifts by the Biden administration: an expansion of a parole program allowing noncitizens to be flown into the U.S. to ease pressure on the border, and a multi-billion-dollar agreement with Mexican officials to curb illegal crossings in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Earlier this year, an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) of government data revealed that hundreds of thousands of migrants were being permitted to fly into U.S. airports as part of what the organization described as a "legally dubious admissions program" designed to reduce the number of unlawful border crossings. Additionally, border crossings have dropped substantially following a deal the Biden administration cut with Mexico to intensify enforcement. This includes rounding up migrants, installing road checkpoints, increasing deportations, and constructing anti-pedestrian trenches to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. border. As part of the agreement, the Mexican military also imposed a blockade on rail yards that had been used to transport large numbers of migrants to the border. The deal, which ramps up enforcement measures, is set to continue through the 2024 election, according to an unnamed source affiliated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In exchange for Mexico's cooperation, its president requested $20 billion from the U.S., as well as the legalization of millions of undocumented Hispanics currently residing in America, the suspension of the blockade on Cuba, and the removal of sanctions against Venezuela. The Texas Governor’s Office has also claimed credit for the reduction in illegal crossings. “Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 85 percent thanks to our historic border mission,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Maheris told NBC. “Fewer illegal crossings into Texas means there are fewer buses departing for sanctuary cities.”Over the past two years, in response to a surge in illegal border crossings, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been transporting busloads of migrants to Democratic strongholds that identify as "sanctuary cities" for undocumented immigrants.
