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With Texas being flooded by illegal immigrants, the state’s Republican Governor Greg Abbott recently decided to pull a political stunt by sending busloads of the criminals to the swamp known as Washington, DC.
On Wednesday, the first busload of illegal aliens arrived in the nation’s capital with help from The Texas Division of Emergency Management under orders from Abbott.
The migrants, who were previously being held at the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector, came from nations like Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Governor Abbott touched on the scheme in a recent statement, writing, “As the federal government continues to turn a blind eye to the border crisis, the State of Texas will remain steadfast in our efforts to fill in the gaps and keep Texans safe. By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately meet the needs of the people they are allowing to cross our border. Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administration’s failure to secure our border.”
“We are taking them to the United States Capitol where the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border,” the governor told reporters on Wednesday.
While the stunt is promoted as a humorous slamming of the left, it does not solve the root issue and may actually be illegal.
Obviously, the federal government is not following the law by allowing an estimated 18,000 illegal immigrants into the country each day, but is Abbott’s response actually helping?
According to Section 274(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.), it is illegal to move or attempt to transport or move illegal aliens within the United States by means of transportation or otherwise.
Prosecutors looking to convict someone under that law would have to prove the person or party involved transported or attempted to transport an illegal noncitizen within the U.S. while knowing they were in the country illegally.
Punishment for violating this immigration law is delivered “for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs.”
The answer to the illegal immigration crisis isn’t violating the law in response to the federal government violating the law: the solution is enforcing the US Constitution and laws already on the books.