Photo: VERONICA G. CARDENAS / AFP / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Another bus carrying migrants from Texas arrived in Los Angeles Monday morning, the 12th such arrival since June 14, according to Mayor Karen Bass' office.
"One bus with migrants on board from Texas arrived around 7:15 a.m. PT today at Union Station. This is the twelfth bus that has arrived," said Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications.
" The city has continued to work with city departments, the county, and a coalition of nonprofit organizations, in addition to our faith partners, to execute a plan set in place earlier this year. As we have before, when we became aware of the bus yesterday, we activated our plan," Seidl added.
After the previous bus arrived last week, Bass' office said the city had welcomed a total of 435 migrants from Texas since the first bus arrived.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been orchestrating the trips under Operation Lone Star, saying Texas' border region is "overwhelmed" by immigrants crossing the Mexican border. OLS is a joint operation between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department along the southern border between Texas and Mexico.
Abbott says the operation is intended to counter the influx of immigrants, illegal drug trade and human smuggling. On X (formerly Twitter), Abbott said the operation as of Aug. 26 has resulted in more than 420,800 apprehensions, 33,600 criminal arrests, 30,500 felony charges, 436 million fentanyl doses seized and 33,230 migrants bused to cities established as "Sanctuary Cities."
Abbott added, "Texas secures the border in Pres. (Joe) Biden's absence."
"Texas' small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden's refusal to secure the border," Abbott said in a statement after the first bus arrived in Los Angeles in June.
"Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the front lines of President Biden's border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border," he added.
The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion on June 9 seeking to formally establish the city as a sanctuary city.
Last week, the council approved a motion calling for the City Attorney's Office to investigate whether crimes were committed on or before June 14, when Abbott sent 42 migrants to Los Angeles in the first of the shipments.