GOP Senator Calls on Texas Gov. Abbott to Send “Illegal Immigrants” to Rhode Island

GOP Senator Calls on Texas Gov. Abbott to Send “Illegal Immigrants” to Rhode Island

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling on Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) to send undocumented immigrants entering the United States to Rhode Island -- and a handful of other states.

Graham made the comments on CNN on Sunday.

"Here’s the problem. You’ve got 11 Democratic Senators signing a letter resisting changing the laws that attract so many illegal immigrants," said Graham. "What I’m telling Governor Abbott is why don’t you send thousands of these illegal immigrants to the states where the Senators wrote these letters."

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The letter Graham cited was signed by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Graham in his CNN interview mentioned Rhode Island first -- and repeatedly.

He then added Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Oregon.

“Let them understand what it’s like to live with a broken border," he said. "The towns in Texas along the border are virtually being destroyed."

Graham said that he would be traveling to Texas to see "the damage" firsthand.

"It’s about making it real to people who refuse to fix the problem," he said.

"To my Democratic colleagues — if you don’t understand what it’s like to have the overwhelming effect of immigration on your communities — you need to experience it. Look what happened in New York," added Graham. 

New York City has been shipped tens of thousands of immigrants from states like Texas. In total, more than 100,000 are now in New York City according to officials.

And, New York City's Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is offering free airplane tickets to the undocumented to relocate anywhere else but New York. He said the cost to New York City is now more than $12 billion over three years.

 

Abbott Announced in June Texas Sent More Than 10,000 Immigrants Elsewhere

According to an Abbott press release issued in June:

Governor Abbott Highlights Over 500 Buses Sent To Sanctuary Cities

Governor Abbott this morning highlighted the over 500 buses Texas has sent to sanctuary cities to provide relief to overwhelmed border communities.

Texas has bused more than 10,000 migrants to our nation's capital since April 2022, over 8,200 migrants to New York City since August 2022, more than 2,600 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, more than 1,600 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022, over 210 migrants to Denver since May 2023, and over 40 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version spelled the South Carolina Senator's first name with an "a" rather than an "e."