L.A. Welcomes coalition confirms the arrival of three buses on Friday marking these the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th buses to arrive in Los Angeles since June 14, 2023. A third of all migrants arriving in Los Angeles by bus have been children.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Friday September 29, 2023
The LA Welcomes coalition confirms the arrival of three buses with asylum seekers sent by the state of Texas. One bus originated in Brownsville, TX and two originated in Del Rio, TX. A total of 109 asylum seekers were on board all three buses.
The Brownsville bus included 39 asylum seekers, including 13 children from Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela. ImmDef and the partner organizations, faith-based groups, and city and county agencies learned of two of today's buses early this morning, stretching our resources in order to ensure that people were greeted with dignity and respect, supported to get to their destinations, reunited with family and connected with sponsors. It is abhorrent and cruel of Governor Abbott to send human beings who are tired, hungry, and yearning for a safe haven, on a 30-hour bus ride without regard for their care, journey, or destination. It is clear he is trying to disrupt our efforts, but we will persevere and so will the migrants on these buses. Migrants were immediately taken to a receiving site where they were offered urgent humanitarian support services, including food, clothing, hygiene kits, health checkups, and ImmDef provided immigration-specific legal orientations. The Collective also facilitated reunions with family members, loved ones, and sponsors residing in the region. The members of the LA Welcomes Collective are: Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA), Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles (CARECEN), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), and Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). The Collective works in collaboration with City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, LAUSD, and other entities. Donations to allow us to continue our humanitarian work in pursuit of ensuring no immigrant stands alone are always welcome: #SAFEANDTOGETHER
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