BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Philadelphia councilmember chides Abbott’s migrant busing

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

PHILADELPHIA (NewsNation) — A Philadelphia city council member said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has “weaponized” the migrant crisis at the southern border after a bus carrying 28 migrants, including a sick and dehydrated child, from Texas, arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Instead of busing migrants, Philadelphia City Council member Helen Gym argued Abbott should be “the loudest advocate” for “comprehensive immigration reform.”

“We welcomed these legal immigrants who are seeking asylum,” Gym told NewsNation. “These are refugees who have a right to seek asylum here in this country. But I also want to make very clear that Gov. Greg Abbott does have the chance to make it make clear that we need comprehensive immigration reform.”

The 10-year-old girl was suffering from dehydration and a high fever and was taken to a hospital.

Abbott announced on Tuesday that a group of migrants had departed for Philadelphia, where they arrived Wednesday morning.

Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and Office of Emergency Management coordinated with 15 community-based organizations to plan a local response for the migrants’ arrival, city officials said.

Texas has put more than 300 busloads of migrants on the road since April, sometimes five in a day, on unannounced journeys to cities including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The trips have cost Texas about $26 million, according to Nim Kidd, chief of Texas Department of Emergency Management.

Gym said she has visited El Paso, Texas to witness the humanitarian crisis at the southern border and believes the U.S. needs a border policy that “makes sense for both sides of the border.”

“But political stunts in which a 10-year-old was put in danger, in which her health was not the primary consideration, is not the way that we handle this,” Gym said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Northeast

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Cloudy

la

58°F Cloudy Feels like 58°
Wind
0 mph ESE
Humidity
87%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
3 mph WSW
Precip
24%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent