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San Antonio Express-News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to bus migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., has amplified the desperate need for comprehensive immigration reform. Since April, Abbott has bused more than 7,200 migrants from Texas to President Joe Bidens backyard. Since Aug. 5, hes bused more than 1,500 migrants to New York City.

Immigration is a federal issue, but it is an acute challenge for border states. And we cant help but notice that Abbotts busing program has had an interesting side effect. It has prompted comments from Mayors Eric Adams and Muriel Bowser, of New York City and Washington, D.C., that give voice to the pressures border communities face.

We need help, and were reaching out to the federal government to tell them that we need help, Adams said just after the first bus arrival.

So, in a narrow sense, props to Abbott for prompting Adams and Bowser to articulate the concerns of border communities, which bear the brunt of a broken immigration system. And if this, in turn, leads to comprehensive immigration reform, then it would be a master stroke. But our concern is this is more about scoring political points than bringing attention to the issue of immigration with appropriate moral urgency. Consider what Abbott said in a statement this month about busing:

Because of President Bidens continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe he said. In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city. .

Immigration is a federal issue, but for border communities its local, and the pressure is intense. The flow of migrants in the Del Rio sector has been off the charts.

In a recent Editorial Board meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told us smuggling organizations are far more sophisticated than they were in the past. And he said this is a unique moment in terms of immigration flow.

What we are seeing is something very, very different than what preceded over the last x number of years, he said. Because its not simply, or merely, migration from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. We are seeing a tremendous increase in Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans, Brazilians, Peruvians.

Given shifting global immigration patterns and federal political gridlock, just what is a border governor to do? No wonder Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told us busing immigrants to Washington and New York is smart politics on Abbotts part because his GOP base overwhelmingly supports his immigration efforts. And, of course, he has brought broader attention to the issue.

On one level, what Abbott has offered migrants, if you remove the obvious politics, is a pretty good deal. They receive a free bus ride to Washington or New York, where asylum is granted more often than in Texas and organizations are better resourced to provide aid. Its the kind of offer that might inspire more migrants to come here, an irony Abbotts supporters should ponder.

But while busing might be smart politics, we wonder what Abbotts end game is , or whether there is a moral driving force. In our interview, Mayorkas said the governors actions on the border, when done in coordination with DHS, can be beneficial. But when the state acts unilaterally, it can wreak havoc.

In this case, the busing doesnt wreak havoc, but, Mayorkas said, The unilateral busing of migrants, irrespective of the capacity of particular locales to address the needs of those individuals, also can prove problematic.

Were concerned about how it turns migrants into political props; plays states against each other; and presents immigrants strictly in terms of cost while ignoring the economic benefits they bring.

As the buses flow to New York City and Washington, D.C., and mayors in those cities echo the words of mayors along the border, as migrants cross in the Del Rio sector, lets all take stock of what words and actions truly lead to the comprehensive reforms so long overdue and desperately needed.

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Other voices: If only busing migrants would spur comprehensive reform - Longview News-Journal