A bus carrying 41 migrants arrived at Union Station on Tuesday evening, according to Mayor Karen Bass, the fourth sent to Los Angeles by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.
“One bus with migrants on board from Texas arrived around 6:30 p.m PT today at Union Station,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Bass’ office. “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.”
According to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), about half of the people aboard the bus hailed from Venezuela, with others coming from Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. A spokesperson for the nonprofit said the bus left from Brownsville, Texas, at 4:25 p.m. Monday.
The group comprised 35 adults and six children, including a 1-year-old, the coalition said in a statement. Initially, 45 asylum seekers left Texas, but a family of four got off the bus in Arizona to meet with their sponsors, according to a spokesperson for the coalition.
After the bus arrived at Union Station, the asylum seekers received a full meal, clothing, hygiene kits and a basic health screening, CHIRLA said. Over a dozen in the group plan to stay in Los Angeles, while others will continue on to other destinations, including Phoenix, Washington state and elsewhere in California, the coalition said.
Since the first bus arrived at Union Station in mid-June, the coalition has welcomed 154 migrants sent from Texas to Los Angeles by the Abbott administration.
“We do not mistake these busing episodes as well-intentioned. Texas and Florida have shown a callous disregard to the human experience, especially as it relates to asylum seekers with black and brown skin,” Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s executive director, said in a statement. “Busing migrants anywhere in the middle of a scorching summer is not kind, it is cruel and unjustified.
“As an organized collective in Los Angeles and as advocates for a more humane and just society for immigrants, we will do what we must to protect the dignity and safety of these families whenever they arrive,” Salas said.
CHIRLA was working to provide aid to the migrants upon arrival, including consultations with immigration attorneys.
The previous bus, which arrived July 13, had 30 migrants aboard. Two earlier buses arrived on June 14 and July 1, with 42 and 41 migrants, respectively. Texas has funded the transport of more than 22,000 migrants to Democrat-run cities across the U.S., including New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia, as part of Abbott’s protest against federal immigration policies.
Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.
Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
