AUSTIN, Texas — The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) bused migrants from a town on the Texas-Mexico border to three cities across the state on Sunday.
LULAC, a Latino civil rights organization, along with dozens of volunteers, were in Eagle Pass, Texas, where they met migrants and informed them of their constitutional civil rights and protections, according to a release from the organization. Some of these migrants had been told to board buses under false pretenses to distant cities that have nonexistent jobs, according to LULAC.
The migrants that LULAC intercepted were taken to Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. KVUE was able to confirm that one woman from Venezuela arrived in Austin, while 30 stayed in San Antonio and five others were on their way to Dallas on Sunday night.
The release further stated that LULAC is prepared to form a human chain in an effort to halt buses from carrying migrants to separate locations.
LULAC President Domingo Garcia said the move by the organization was an effort against Gov. Greg Abbott's migrant busing to Democratic-led cities across the U.S., nicknamed the "Bust the Buses Action."
“LULAC is going to counter the anti-migrant political hate speech, lies and misinformation recruiters are using to entice men, women and children in despair,” Garcia said in the release. “I have spoken with many of the refugees personally and know all they want is to work and have a safe place to live while they await their court date."
Abbott began busing migrants from Texas to other cities in the U.S. earlier this year to target the Biden administration's immigration policy. The governor's office said on Sept. 9 that the state has transported more than 10,000 migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago.
Carlos A. Martinez, the national social media director for LULAC, said that the migrants have been taken to locations across the U.S. that they had not agreed or consented to. One of these instances was when a second bus of migrants from Texas reportedly arrived outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday.
"This is a new threat to their safety," Martinez said. "It's very important that they know their rights and they be able to protect themselves from these types of threats to their security."
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed Abbott's lead and arranged for migrants to be transported from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Arizona's Republican governor has also had migrants transported to Democratic-led cities.
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