Philly receives first bus of immigrants from Texas in four months, readies for more arrivals

A bus carrying immigrants who crossed the border into Texas arrived in Philadelphia early Wednesday. It was sent by Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his ongoing effort to target Northern sanctuary cities.

It was the first bus to land here in four months, coming as local officials readied for more arrivals amid a potential surge of people at the Southern border.

The bus rolled onto a street near 30th Street Station shortly before 6:30 a.m., carrying 31 passengers including seven children.

A smaller-than-usual welcoming party of immigration advocates and city employees prepared to hand out light jackets and juice boxes as people disembarked in chilly weather.

”Hi, my friend, good morning,” said one rider to the advocates, wanting to practice his English. Five arrivals were set to go to the airport, with Chicago as their final destination.

What’s next is uncertain, in Philadelphia and on the border — but officials worry that the Thursday end of Title 42, a Trump-era pandemic policy that let the government quickly turn away certain migrants, will generate a crush of arrivals and worsen a humanitarian crisis.

President Joe Biden took office promising to create a more humane immigration system, but in fact has continued some Trump policies, including Title 42, a World War II health law that allows the government to expel people in the name of stopping communicable diseases.

Now that policy is ending, to be replaced by other federal barriers to entry.

The bus trip to Philadelphia was not smooth, according to people who arrived on Wednesday. Some children developed stomach problems from the prepackaged military meals that were provided to them.

All those sent to Philadelphia have legal permission to be in the country, and most or all are seeking asylum, a protection that can be provided to people who could be harmed in their homelands.

Nicole Gomez, 20, originally from Venezuela, said there were miscommunications over where passengers were being sent. She and four other women signed up to be bused to Chicago, but when they climbed aboard the bus in Del Rio, Texas, it was headed to Philadelphia.

Still, she said, she was happy to be in the United States, making her way to Philadelphia International Airport with four other women.

”The economic situation [in Venezuela] forced us to come, and it’s a shame because it’s a beautiful country,” she said. “But I’m ready to seek the necessary paperwork and begin working.”

Another woman, Isamar Granadillo, 33, said she wanted to get an education in this country.

The 26 other migrants headed to a city-run welcome center to arrange pickups and travel to New York and other nearby cities — and to grab a bite of hot food for the first time since Monday afternoon, when the bus departed. Advocates said all those who arrived on Wednesday would be moving on to other places.

Blanca Pacheco, codirector of New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, said organizers here remain ready to help people like Granadillo and Gomez.

She was critical of President Joe Biden, who promised a more humane immigration system and a pathway to citizenship for newcomers. At the least, she said, the administration should have created an arrival protocol at the border to help asylum-seekers.

The welcome system in Philadelphia has worked, she said, and the federal government should likewise set up a similar, ordered procedure.

“They should support the asylum seekers, and then make work permits available for them as soon as possible,” she said.

Before Wednesday, the most recent bus from Texas arrived in Philadelphia on Jan. 7.

That winter arrival was the 19th in a string of unscheduled, unannounced buses that began landing shortly before Thanksgiving, carrying nearly a thousand immigrants to this city.

On Wednesday advocates estimated that about 11 migrants remained at the city welcome center in North Philadelphia. About 50 people have chosen to make their homes in Philadelphia, city officials said.

Abbott called the buses an effort to relieve overwhelmed border towns, while Mayor Jim Kenney and others said it was a cheap political trick that hurt innocent people. Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Philadelphia has been targeted among so-called sanctuary cities, including Chicago, New York, and Washington, as Abbott sent more than 16,000 migrants in 2022. Mayors in Washington and New York declared states of emergency due to the influx of people.

This month more buses rolled into New York, and Republican leaders of two suburban counties declared states of emergency there, to try to stop the city’s Democratic mayor from housing hundreds of migrants in their communities.

Immigrant advocates in Philadelphia have been preparing for fresh arrivals, with the pandemic-related immigration restrictions of Title 42 scheduled to expire on Thursday. Local leaders said Wednesday that they’re certain more buses will be coming to Philadelphia, and likely sooner than later, though the precise timing is unknown.

The Trump administration used Title 42 it to override asylum, a legal means to stay in the United States for those facing persecution in their homelands. The administration sent people who entered the southern border back to their home country or, more often, to Mexico.

The Biden administration continued the policy and defended it in court — and later opposed it in legal proceedings. Now the Centers for Disease Control says the COVID-19 pandemic no longer justifies the use of Title 42.

It might provoke a rush of new arrivals toward such states as Texas, followed by the sending of more buses to Philadelphia from Del Rio, a border town located about 150 miles west of San Antonio.

The first bus on Nov. 16 brought about 30 migrants to a side street near the train station, and established what has since become the routine procedure: passengers were quickly checked for medical emergencies, then offered blankets, coats, and drinks. Some were picked up by family members, while others boarded a waiting bus to be transferred to the welcome center, where government workers and immigrant-assistance groups provided food, temporary housing, legal services, and logistical support.

During roughly seven weeks, 838 immigrants arrived here, according to city officials.

The Biden administration has announced that as Title 42 expires, new rules will take effect, including one that presumes people who did not seek protection in other countries on their way here are ineligible for asylum.

That’s a dramatic reinterpretation of immigration law, which says people can seek protection no matter how they got here. It’s unclear how potential court challenges to that rule could affect its implementation.

Winter arrivals interviewed by The Inquirer said their two-day bus journey started with an offer of a free trip to Chicago, New York, or Philadelphia, made over a loudspeaker at a Texas border facility. Many had come to the United States from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Cuba.

The city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Office of Emergency Management had spent months preparing, coordinating with community organizations including Juntos, HIAS Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, and Nationalities Service Center.