Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris' residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18-degree weather late Saturday.
Amy Fischer, a volunteer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, which has been receiving migrants sent to DC since the spring, said the organization had been prepared for Saturday night's arrivals, having been informed about it earlier by an NGO working at the border in Texas.
The arrivals included asylum seekers from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and, according to Fischer, who told CNN the buses were supposed to go to New York but were diverted to DC due to the weather.
Since April, busloads of migrants have arrived in Washington on a weekly basis. According to an administration official, the first two busloads were taken to local shelters. Later Saturday evening, more buses arrived outside the vice president's residence.
SAMU First Response, a nonprofit that has been assisting migrants since the buses began arriving in Washington earlier this year, was also on the ground Saturday night.
"The DC community has been welcoming buses from Texas anytime they've come since April. Christmas Eve and freezing cold weather is no different," Fischer said. "We are always here welcoming folks with open arms."
Although it was eported earlier this year that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had transported buses of migrants north, including to a spot near Harris' home, it is unclear who is in charge of transporting them to the Naval Observatory, where the vice president's apartment is situated.
The Texas governor was blamed by the White House, who described it as a "cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt."
"Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities," White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement.
"As we have repeatedly said, we are willing to work with anyone - Republican or Democrat alike - on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, but these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger," Hasan said.
Abbott is one of at least three Republican governors who have claimed responsibility for transporting or flying migrants north to protest the Biden administration's immigration policies this year. He had acknowledged in September that the buses were sent to Harris' residence at the time.
