Xinhua News Agency Washington, December 27th: Washington, the capital of the United States, will usher in the coldest Christmas in more than 20 years this year. Outside the official residence of US Vice President Harris , hundreds of immigrants spent a night of physical and mental chills in the biting cold.
These immigrants are said to be from Central America and Caribbean regions and entered the United States illegally from the southern border of the United States. On the evening of the 24th, three buses took them outside Harris’ home. Wrapped in white blankets provided by volunteers, they lined up to be picked up and taken to a resettlement site.
This is the frozen Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, the capital of the United States, on December 25. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
In the past few days, the United States has been hit by a large-scale winter storm, with temperatures plummeting in many places, rain, snow and strong winds. As of the 25th, the winter storm has killed at least 35 people in the United States. The temperature in Washington dropped to minus 9 degrees Celsius on the 24th. The Associated Press reported that some immigrants were only wearing T-shirts when they arrived in Washington. Videos on
social media showed that most of the migrants had wrapped themselves tightly in blankets, while others stamped their feet to keep warm. Amy Fischer, the head of an immigrant relief agency, told US media that these people had no coats and "they were all freezing."
Fischer's agency stated on social media on the 25th that these immigrants were thrown into the ice and snow of Washington by Texas Governor and Republican Greg Abbott, and "this is nothing new."
This is a screenshot of the social media of Sanctuary DMV, an immigrant relief agency.
Since April this year, Abbott and other Republican governors have used buses or planes to send thousands of immigrants to cities governed by the Democratic Party, including Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, etc., to protest against the immigration policies of US President, Democrat Biden.
Last week, Abbott also sent a letter to Biden, asking the federal government to immediately deploy personnel to respond to the "severe border crisis," especially to deal with the emergency situation in the southern border city of El Paso due to the large influx of cross-border immigrants. El Paso has cooled significantly due to recent winter storms, but the number of immigrants living on the streets has not.
21-year-old Dylan Reyes spent the night next to a bus stop in El Paso, shivering from the cold. "It's very cold here, and I only have this piece of clothing." Reyes pointed to his hoodie and said, "It's difficult to sleep like this."
CBS reporter Camilo Montoya Galvez wrote on social media on the 23rd that the temperature in El Paso dropped to minus 7 degrees Celsius. Some immigrants with nowhere to go are still sleeping on the streets and can only rely on a bus specially parked at the station by the local municipal government to stay warm. "Some families are sleeping on the roadside with blankets."
This is a screenshot of CBS reporter Camilo Montoya Galvez's social media
White House spokesman Abdullah Hassan pointed the finger at Abbott on the 25th, accusing him in a statement of using immigrants to create "cruel, dangerous and shameful stunts" regardless of freezing temperatures, saying that these political tricks achieve nothing and only put lives at risk.
The Republican Party calls the Democratic Party "hypocritical" and "double standards". They say nice things about immigration, but when immigrants arrive in areas dominated by Democrats, they are dissatisfied and complain.
Many Americans believe that the dispute between the Democratic and Republican parties over the "immigration bus" is just a "partisan political show."
"It's wrong to play games with human lives." New York resident Ed Backus told reporters that this "political show" of using buses to transport immigrants is disgusting. The immigrants on the buses are involved in it and are in a dilemma.
This is a vehicle transporting immigrants taken in San Antonio, Texas, USA on September 30. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Nick Wagner)
Immigration has long been one of the most concerning issues in the United States, and it is also a key area of struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties. Immigrants who have left their homes are caught in the middle, often unable to even protect their basic human rights, and have become pawns and victims of political disputes in the United States.
This summer, U.S. law enforcement officers found the bodies of dozens of immigrants in the carriage of an abandoned truck in San Antonio, Texas. Many others died after being taken to the hospital, totaling more than 50 people. This is the most serious death due to border human smuggling in the United States in recent years, and the Democratic and Republican parties subsequently blamed each other. (Reporters: Sun Ding, Xu Jianmei, Hui Xiaoshuang)
Source: Xinhua News Agency
