A group of 45 migrants who reached Los Angeles Friday morning are the second to arrive by bus from Texas in four days.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office confirmed that the group of asylum seekers marks the 15th to arrive in L.A. since the first bus arrived in June.
The bus that arrived Friday pulled into Union Station shortly after 9:30 a.m. after leaving Texas around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, according to L.A. Welcomes Collective, a group of immigration advocates, faith-based organizers and city and county officials. The group of asylum seekers, which includes 13 families and 23 children, traveled from Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
On Tuesday, 40 asylum seekers from Venezuela and El Salvador arrived in Union Station, the L.A. Welcomes Collective said.
Since June 14, Los Angeles has received 605 migrants sent by the administration of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to L.A. Welcomes Collective. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
About a quarter of the migrants who arrived Friday plan to stay in Los Angeles and the rest will continue their travels to meet their families in other cities and states, according to Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesperson with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
“It’s one bus too many in such a short amount of time,” Cabrera said. “But I could say the same for the [14] previous buses. It’s completely unnecessary for Texas to do this.”
“But it’s important that we do our work to make sure that these migrants do not feel rejected one more time.”
While the Abbott administration paid for the migrant’s bus trip to Los Angeles, the L.A. Welcomes Collective will assist anyone else whose families are in other parts of the country.
The L.A. Welcomes Collective greeted the migrants as they got off the charter bus at Union Station and provided them food and other resources at a nearby church, Cabrera said.
“Our limited resources will support those who need us and they in turn make our communities safe, vital, & strong,” L.A. Welcomes Collective said in a statement. “L.A. is an immigrant city; CA is an immigrant state. We thrive because of the creativity, contributions, & diversity of our communities.”
Bass’ office was notified of the group’s arrival on Thursday and mobilized a plan to greet the migrants.
“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,” Bass’ office said in a statement.
The rate of buses arriving from Texas has increased, and it’s unclear if the Abbott administration will provide any additional insight about its current program. All previous requests for comment are referred to a statement issued in June from Abbott’s office.
