A dozen undocumented immigrants arrived in San Jose on a bus from Texas this past weekend, and San Jose is making no apologies for rolling out the welcome mat with food, clothing, and medical care.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are continuing their political stunt of shipping busloads of migrants to blue states, but the blue states like California have largely been taking them (though there is a growing crisis with mostly Venezuelan migrants in New York City).
There has been political pushback here over these governors' treatment of the migrants. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating the possibly shady circumstances of the transport, in which the immigrants have allegedly been deceived or not told where they’re going, and he's called the practice “state-sanctioned kidnapping.”
This past weekend, San Jose got its first busload from Texas, according to KTVU. That station describes the bus as bringing “more than two-dozen migrants seeking asylum in the United States,” and notes that they originated in El Paso.
"Migrants were previously detained in El Paso, Texas and were put on a bus with a choice of Colorado or California. And those that chose California were dropped in Downtown San Jose," Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations manager Aundraya Martinez, told KTVU.
The East San Jose arrivals include seven adults and five children, and several Santa Clara County nonprofits are accommodating them with food, clothing, medical services, and temporary shelter.
It’s the first such busload to arrive in San Jose, but the city anticipated this by forming a Welcoming Migrants Plan. KGO identifies two of the nonprofits providing services as the Amigos de Guadalupe Center and Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS).
"Santa Clara County is proud to be a sanctuary county. And we are committed to supporting all members of our community, regardless of status," Martinez added to KTVU.
Regardless, ALAS executive director Belinda Hernandez Arriaga says they’re committed to providing the new arrivals with help and services.
"You know when you see it on the news, you just see a group, but when you're with them individually you see that mom, you see that dad, that child, that aunt, that grandparent just like you — just like me," Arriaga told KGO.
Related: In Cold, Cruel Christmas Eve Stunt, Buses of Migrants End Up at Kamala Harris’s DC Home [SFist]
Image: Immigrants who have illegally crossed into the US and caught by authorities, have had shoe laces removed before they are released as they await deportation at the McAllen, Texas bus station on June 23rd, 2014 (Photo by Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images)
