L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued an angry statement Wednesday evening after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a bus with 42 migrants to her \u201csanctuary city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bass said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis evening, more than 40 people were sent by the Governor of Texas to our City of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShortly after I took office, I directed City Departments to begin planning in the event Los Angeles was on the receiving end of a despicable stunt that Republican Governors have grown so fond of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us. Now, it\u2019s time to execute our plan. Our emergency management, police, fire and other departments were able to find out about the incoming arrival while the bus was on its way and were already mobilized along with nonprofit partners before the bus arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLos Angeles is not a city motivated by hate or fear and we absolutely will not be swayed or moved by petty politicians playing with human lives. We are a city that seeks to treat all people with dignity and compassion and we will continue to work closely with non-profit organizations, including the L.A. Welcomes Collective, as well as with our County, State and Federal partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor everything that we do, we will continue to lock arms and we will continue to lead. And we will always put people\u2019s health and well being over politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his own statement, Gov. Abbott said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governor Greg Abbott today announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to Los Angeles, California from Texas. The migrants were dropped off at L.A. Union Station this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTexas\u2019 small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden\u2019s refusal to secure the border,\u201d said Governor Abbott. \u201cLos 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 frontlines of President Biden\u2019s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
L.A., with a population<\/a> of nearly 4 million within city limits, declared last week that it will officially become a \u201csanctuary city\u201d by codifying a ban on cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. The city\u2019s previous \u201csanctuary city\u201d status had largely been symbolic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n California already is a destination of choice for millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, due to an existing Spanish-speaking population, and generous welfare benefits that include<\/a> free health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) threatend to charge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with kidnapping for transporting a small group of migrants to Sacramento.<\/p>\n\n\n\n