Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that the situation at the border was "going rather smoothly," two days before a busload of migrants was dropped off in front of her Washington, D.C., residence.
"You know, I hear that everything in the last couple days is going rather smoothly, given what the concerns were," Harris said during remarks at a Democratic fundraiser in the Atlanta suburbs on Friday. "The bottom line, however, is that this issue of immigration falls squarely within the responsibility of the United States Congress."
Two days later, a busload of illegal migrants reportedly sent from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott (R.) disembarked outside her D.C. home.
#BREAKING A bus bringing migrants from Texas just arrived at the Naval Observatory near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence. Busing has started back up since Title 42 expired, this time on Mother’s Day. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also sent busloads of migrants Christmas Eve. pic.twitter.com/L88eBOpwYv
— Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) May 15, 2023
Buses of migrants have been dispatched to cities like D.C. and New York City as the border crisis continues. Since Title 42 expired on Thursday, thousands of migrants have crossed the border, and the Biden administration has been releasing them into the country.
Abbott began sending migrants to D.C. in 2022 and has often chosen the Naval Observatory grounds, which hosts the vice president's home, as the destination.
"There will be more coming," Abbott said Thursday in regard to the buses of migrants. "There will be more going to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other places across the country."
Harris did not discuss immigration in her prepared remarks on Friday, only addressing the issue when asked about a statement by Georgia Republicans slamming her for attending the fundraiser instead of dealing with the border.
Harris's answer that the issue is Congress's problem is similar to a response given by Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week.
"There’s a very important message, not to communicate only to Sen. Sinema but to all senators and all members of the House of Representatives: We need immigration reform," Mayorkas said. "The president passed to Congress a proposal to fix our broken immigration system on the first day in office."