I love what Texas governor Greg Abbott is doing in giving illegal entrants the option of being bused from Texas to D.C. and now New York City.  With U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting well over 200,000 southwest land border encounters each month and no end in sight to illegal border crossings under this presidency, I think the governor should significantly expand the program.

Although the cost of busing an illegal is likely much less than the cost to Texas of caring for the migrant and protecting the community from those who commit additional crimes, a non-profit should be set up to raise and provide funds for additional buses not only to D.C. and New York, but to any place that has declared itself a "sanctuary" jurisdiction.

With 11 sanctuary states and 179 (some overlapping) sanctuary counties and cities in a total of 29 states, the State of Texas in coordination with the proposed charitable organization would be able to offer new arrivals to our country the ability to select from among these sanctuary jurisdictions the one that best meets their needs in terms of climate and any number of other factors that will offer them the lifestyle they seek in our land of opportunity.

Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Source.

The program would remain voluntary to participants; but how could it not be extremely attractive for an illegal border-crosser to live in a place where he is guaranteed sanctuary from immigration enforcement when the chances of being granted asylum are slim?  Relocation to a sanctuary jurisdiction should be especially appealing to those migrants who contemplate criminal activity, as these cities, states, and counties even shield criminals from ICE as part of their sanctuary status.

But with the many who would proudly donate to this charitable organization, the voluntary busing program might even be able to provide additional incentives (money, gift cards, maybe a cell phone, etc.) to make it even more attractive for any illegal border-crosser to take the Free Bus Ride to Sanctuary.  The work of this non-profit would likely appeal to potential donors from across the political spectrum, ranging from open-border liberals who will want to do everything they can to help even the unvetted illegal border-crosser to and rule-of-law conservatives who understand that the border crisis will not be addressed until it is recognized as more than a regional issue affecting only border states. 

Once it catches on and people understand its benefits, even President Biden might be able to claim credit for the busing program.  After all, it is just an adaptation of the innovative midnight charter flights to Westchester County Airport arranged by his administration last year.  But with hundreds of thousands able to obtain sanctuary, this program could take its place in history alongside such moments in transportation and evacuation history as the Mariel boatlift of 1980; Biden's 2021 Kabul Airlift; and, dare I say, the Underground Railroad through the middle of the 19th century.  Even Pete Buttigieg might jump on board.

So perhaps Gov. Abbott can arrange to hand each person crossing our border illegally a simple well designed pamphlet (in more than a dozen languages) touting the benefits of relocating to any of the numerous welcoming sanctuary jurisdictions shown on a map like the above and listing the 179 possibilities and provide a well trained staff to facilitate their Free Bus Ride to Sanctuary of their choice.