Buses arrive in Washington, DC several times a week with migrants and refugees from Latin America. The background is a dispute between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden.
A bus stops in front of Washington’s Union Station. It’s just after 8 a.m. – a street musician is playing the guitar. Just a few hours ago, during the night, dozens of migrants arrived here on a bus from Texas.
A game ball of US politics
Inside the station hall, the group of young men is hard to miss. Her skin is tanned and her clothes look colorfully thrown together – that is noticeable in the gray city of civil servants with many suits.
The bus ride from the Texas border town of Del Rio to Washington, DC, took 30 hours, says Rodrigo. The 22-year-old says the bus only stopped once. He went along voluntarily. The Honduran says the Texas border guards didn’t force him to get on the bus. He wanted to visit friends in New York, but didn’t have enough money for the trip there, so he was happy about the free bus.
From the train station, walk to a nearby church. Rodrigo and the others are happy to be in Washington now. The refugees do not know that they are also a pawn in American politics.
Gregg Abbott vs Joe Biden
Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to use the buses to put pressure on President Joe Biden. This is because Biden has repealed the so-called “Title 42”. This regulation had allowed Texas border guards to return apprehended migrants directly without any form of procedure – allegedly to protect the US population from the corona virus.
Legend:
Gregg Abbott, the governor of Texas, is sending migrants on buses to Washington – putting pressure on President Joe Biden.
Reuters/Marco Bello
But Biden overturned Title 42 – but a court blocked this decision again. Nevertheless, under Biden, it has become more difficult for border guards to send migrants back to Mexico.
So Abbott sends her to Washington. More than 30 buses have already arrived in the American capital since April. In the beginning there were one or two buses a day. Now there are twice as many.
Escape from repression, violence and hunger
Yesterday he celebrated his 25th birthday on the bus, Alberto says on the way to church. Now the Venezuelan wants to try to get by somehow in Washington, on his own.
Legend:
He celebrated his 25th birthday on the bus: Alberto from Venezuela.
SRF/Teresa Delgado
He sees no future for himself in his homeland – only repression, violence and famine. From Venezuela Alberto fled to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico.
I wouldn’t wish any of this on my worst enemy.
They crossed almost ten countries, say Alberto and the others. For more than a week, the 25-year-old marched through the rainforest: “I was in the rainforest for eight days,” says Alberto, “we slept there. I have seen dead people. Many dead. You walk past people who have injuries on their legs. They ask you for help. But there’s nothing you can do. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
Helpers on the attack
Arrived at the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, the migrants are given fresh clothes and something to eat. A church volunteer asks the refugees to sit down. Everyone can only take half a donut, she explains. Otherwise there is not enough for everyone.
Legend:
Clothing donations in the basement of the United Methodist Church in Washington’s Capitol Hill area.
SRF/Teresa Delgado
The aid organizations are on the attack. According to the Biden administration, all those that Texas sends to the capital have been previously registered by the Border Patrol Agency. They can therefore move freely in the USA while they wait for their asylum decision.
But what are they supposed to live on during this time? Various aid organizations provide emergency aid on behalf of the state. But the state has only covered part of their expenses so far.
Legend:
Pastor Stephanie Vader: “I only see people standing at a bus station without anything to eat, without access to hygiene or a place to sleep.”
SRF/Teresa Delgado
Pastor Stephanie Vader would like more support from the authorities. Any kind of help is welcome, she says, regardless of the political side. “I don’t understand anything about immigration policy,” says the pastor, “I only see people standing at a bus station without anything to eat, without access to hygiene or a place to sleep. As a Christian pastor, it’s my job to help. So I do that.”
Pastor Vader’s church is part of a network of volunteers in the capital. Aid organizations translate for the migrants, they buy bus or plane tickets and help them to get to their relatives, or the helpers place the migrants in private accommodation or emergency shelters.
As a Christian pastor, it’s my job to help. So I do that.
Without this help, people would end up on the streets – without money and without work permits. The aid organizations are still preventing the worst.
But if Texas continues to send buses to Washington, DC, with more and more migrants, then at some point it will also become a problem for President Joe Biden that he can no longer ignore.