Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defends sending migrants to New York City and says it's Biden who is using illegal border crossers as 'political pawns'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has no regrets about sending illegal immigrants to New York City, and insisted on Sunday it is President Biden who uses them as 'political pawns.' 

'So the person who’s actually using illegal immigrants as political pawns is Joe Biden,' said Abbott. 

'Biden has created this open border policy that has allowed illegal immigrants into our country to appeal to and to appease the far leftists in the Democrat party,' the Republican added.  

Abbott continued his spat with NYC Mayor Eric Adams who offered him a complimentary stay at a migrant shelter during his trip to the Big Apple to headline the New York Republican Party's annual gala.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has no regrets about sending illegal immigrants to New York City , and insisted on Sunday it is President Biden who uses them as 'political pawns'

On Sunday, Abbott responded by calling Adams' invitation a 'gimmick' and said he should focus on his own city. 

The governor also insisted that President Joe Biden's policies forced his hand to bus migrants to New York and other sanctuary cities.

'Our country is being invaded in ways that put our country at risk because the political games that Joe Biden has played,' Abbott told host Martha MacCallum on Fox News Sunday.

 'And Mayor Adams is just aiding and abetting that by having a sanctuary city status...welcoming anybody from across the world to live there and stay there, on the bill of New York.'

'What Mayor Adams needs to do is stop talking boldly about immigration and the migrants Texas is sending there and step up and do his own job.' 

Abbott has been bussing migrants from the Texas border to liberal-run cities like New York and Chicago. The latest numbers released by Texas officials in March show the state has now transported more than 105,000 migrants since 2022, including 39,000 who were bussed to New York. 

'I'm going to offer him a stay in one of the [Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers], so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown,' Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday. 

Adams has called Abbott "morally bankrupt" and a "madman" over his busing policies. 

In 2023 New York City took in some 175,000 migrants and spent $1.45 billion to feed and house them. 

Dozens of migrants/immigrants families are seen arriving from Texas at the Port Authority Bus Terminal

A bus, carrying the migrants from Texas, arrives in Port Authority bus station of New York, United States

The city has warned there is 'no end in sight' to the crisis and expects to spend $12 billion on migrants by fiscal year 2025. 

Migrants arriving in New York City have been handed prepaid debit cards that appear to offer twice as much to spend on essentials as other NYC welfare benefits. 

An average family of four on SNAP -  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - receives $713 from the program. New York's pilot card scheme for migrants offers $1,400 every four weeks.