Texas spent over $12 million so far to bus migrants to sanctuary cities

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas has spent over $12 million to bus migrants from its southern border to sanctuary cities to date, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).

TDEM said the money is specifically coming from the border security budget approved by the Texas Legislature. According to TDEM, a part of funding also comes from a state of Texas contingency contract to charter buses which includes private security.

Abbott's office created a portal to accept donations from the public to help fund busing efforts. The donation site lists that the fund has raised $167,828 as of Aug. 17.

Gov. Greg Abbott began directing migrants elsewhere through the bus program in early April. It's a political move to send a message to the Biden administration, which Abbott said isn't doing enough to help with the surge of migrants at the southern border.

The first group was sent to Washington, D.C., then New York and now Chicago. According to Abbott, buses are being sent to places that are considered "sanctuary cities."

Here's a breakdown of how many migrants have gone to each city to date:

• D.C. - over 7,500
• New York City - over 1,900
• Chicago - over 95

Abbott's press secretary, Renae Eze, in a statement said:

“President Biden has turned a blind eye to the suffering of Texans, as his dangerous open border policies overrun border communities with a record-breaking level of migrants from over 155 countries flooding into our state. Texas legislative leadership agreed with Governor Abbott that additional funds were needed for Texas to respond to the humanitarian crisis created by the Biden Administration, allocating additional Texas taxpayer money for Operation Lone Star and to help bus migrants to our nation’s capital, including providing security for the buses. And after Governor Abbott announced his plan to bus migrants to President Biden’s backyard in Washington, D.C., we received an outpouring of support from across our state and the entire country of people wanting to help and donate to the operation, raising over $167,000 so far. Texas continues stepping up to help our local partners and protect Texans—it’s time for President Biden and Congress to step up and do their job to secure our border.”

The bus program is voluntary for migrants, though, it's not clear if migrants are made fully aware of details surrounding their transportation.

This story will be updated by Capitol Correspondent Jala Washington.