Texas spent $125M in tax payer money to move migrants to NYC, but New York is sending them back

Gov. Greg Abbott spent millions of tax dollars to bus and fly migrants to so-called sanctuary cities, but now 13 Investigates is learning New York City is paying for some of them to come back.

According to Liz Garcia from Mayor Eric Adams' Press Office, New York City has funded 4,507 asylum seekers to fly to Texas.

Garcia says Texas is the top destination for migrants as part of a city relocation program that's been underway and relocating migrants for months.

The program works by interviewing migrants and allowing them to choose where they want to go.

Garcia also told 13 Investigates that "hundreds" of the migrants who picked Texas arrived in New York as part of Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star.

A key component of Operation Lone Star has been the bussing program that moved migrants from Texas border cities to Democratic-run cities across America.

Since Abbott started that program in 2022, Texas has bussed nearly 46,000 migrants to New York City alone.

If you do the math, New York City is sending back 10% of the migrants Texas sent.

A surge of migrants crossed the southern border at the beginning of this year, so Operation Lone Star was in high gear.

In the past, 13 Investigates reported that nearly $125 million in Texas tax dollars were spent relocating migrants from April 2022 through mid-January of this year.

13 Investigates: Cost of transferring migrants out of Texas tops $124M - ABC13 Houston

13 Investigates has reached out to Abbott's office for comment.

On Tuesday, days after this story aired, Abbott's office sent the following statement from his press secretary Andrew Mahaleris:

"Border Czar Kamala Harris and the federal government continues to refuse to enforce federal immigration laws already on the books and do their jobs to secure the border, allowing record-high levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and weapons to surge into our state and country. Hypocritical Mayor Adams said busing migrants is 'morally bankrupt,' while Harris called transporting migrants 'political theater' and they're doing the same thing themselves. Until Border Czar Harris steps up and does her job to secure the border, Texas will continue utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to the Biden-Harris border crisis."

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