LA receives 13th bus of migrants from Texas

Another bus carrying migrants from Texas arrived at Union Station, Los Angeles Saturday morning, the 13th such arrival since June 14.

Los Angeles has welcomed nearly 500 migrants from Texas since the first bus arrived according to city officials.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been orchestrating the trips under Operation Lone Star, saying Texas' border region is "overwhelmed" by immigrants crossing the Mexican border. OLS is a joint operation between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department along the southern border between Texas and Mexico.  

Abbott says the operation is intended to counter the influx of immigrants, illegal drug trade, and human smuggling. On X (formerly Twitter), Abbott said the operation as of Aug. 26 has resulted in more than 420,800 apprehensions, 33,600 criminal arrests, 30,500 felony charges, 436 million fentanyl doses seized and 33,230 migrants bused to cities established as "Sanctuary Cities."  

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has complained that Abbott's office does not share enough information with the city about the shipments.   

"We hear about the buses headed our way when they're on the way. We have no idea who's going to be on the bus, how many people it is, or what condition they're going to be in when they get here,"  said Bass. "Sometimes they haven't had any food, barely had enough water." 

The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion on June 9 seeking to formally establish the city as a sanctuary city.