Migrants continue to flow into major cities on the American East Coast, from Texas, where they crossed the border. The Texan governor, the Republican Greg Abbott, refuses to detain them and sends them by bus, without notice, to the metropolis.
The maneuver is controversial and has been criticized at the top of the state. In New York, the mayor has declared a state of emergency and the associations are trying to organize themselves.
For a few weeks now, Saint Rita’s Church in Queens, like many New York organizations, has been trying to help migrants and asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the city, such as Manuela, a 26-year-old Venezuelan accompanied by her daughter and her husband.
“They give us food and clothes. And the three of us stay in a hotel room,” Manuela explained to La Matinale on Monday.
She and her family arrived 2 weeks ago after a long and dangerous journey. “It took 28-30 days. We walked, took buses. We left our country due to the economic crisis, lack of work”.
Expensive support
Manuela is one of more than 21,000 migrants bussed from the southern US border by the Republican governor of Texas.
They often arrive exhausted, hungry and lost, according to Helen Foster of St. Rita’s Church. “They just tell them to go. They’re put on one bus, their kids on another… They’re really treated like cattle.”
“It’s really disgusting to see human beings being used as pawns in a political game. It’s outrageous… It’s beyond me,” said Mariposa, a member of a migrant advocacy association.
New York City, already facing a housing crisis, finds itself overwhelmed by these massive arrivals. Caring for these migrants is expected to cost the city more than $600 million.
Loubna Anaki/lan
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