A second bus carrying immigrants from Texas arrived in Philadelphia on the morning of November 21. This is a sequence of arrivals observed in just six days in the city that had to improvise the reception of travelers who do not know what awaits them.

According to the Texas Tribune, “Immigration advocates said the bus with an estimated 48 Spanish-speaking passengers was sent by Gov. Greg Abbott. The bus landed outside 30th Street Station in freezing temperatures, welcomed by more than 20 immigrant leaders, city officials and volunteers, some of whom had waited hours to help provide a greeting”.

Shortly after the bus arrived at 9:45 a.m., Abbotttweeted that “Texas has bused over 13,500 migrants to sanctuary cities” — and ticked off the numbers, including 8,400 to Washington, D.C.; 3,800 to New York City; 1,200 to Chicago; and as of Monday, almost 100 to Philadelphia. On November 23, he tweeted again that “The second bus of migrants arrived in Philadelphia. President Biden’s continued dereliction of duty has forced Texas to ramp up border security efforts. We will continue to protect our country from Biden’s dangerous open border policies”.

Local advocates believe more buses may arrive soon and say they are ready to offer a warm and safe welcome.

“Most of the arrivals on Monday were men. All aboard had crossed the border from Mexico into Texas, and all have permission to be in the United States, at least for now. The travelers originally came from Nicaragua, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

About 30 riders were quickly transferred to a waiting Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus, to be moved to a city welcome center in North Philadelphia. There they would be offered additional drinks, food, medical screenings, and temporary shelter. Get our biggest scoops and breaking stories, delivered to you”, according to the Texas Tribune.

The first bus sent by Abbott had arrived days earlier in the operation which he translated as an effort to bring “much needed relief” to Texas border communities. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called the move a despicable political coup that used immigrant families as pawns to push a “distorted political agenda”.

“Since the summer, the Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Office of Emergency Management have been preparing for the potential arrival of migrants on unscheduled, unanticipated bus routes from Southern states. Those agencies met regularly with 15 local community-based organizations, including Juntos, HIAS Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, and Nationalities Service Center”, according to the same publication.

“At the welcome center on Monday, volunteers greeted the new arrivals with familiar foods, including arepas and empanadas, and helped them connect with family and legal resources. Most migrants did not plan to stay in Philadelphia, but to move on to join family members in other states”.