Asylum seekers caught in political battle in NYC, Washington

Asylum seekers caught in political battle in NYC, Washington

FILE - Migrants hold Red Cross blankets after arriving at Union Station near the U.S. Capitol from Texas on buses on April 27, 2022, in Washington. Two Republican border-state governors who are investing billions of dollars on immigration enforcement and hours at the podium blasting the Biden administration policies have found two unlikely allies: Democratic mayors Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., and Eric Adams of New York. The mayors' recent overtures for federal aid is a response to Texas and Arizona busing migrants away from the border, a months-old practice that has been long on political theater and short on practical impact. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of asylum seekers from across Latin America and the Caribbean are getting caught in the political battle over U.S. immigration policy after two Republican governors started sending busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington. Border cities such as San Diego have long wrestled with influxes of asylum-seekers and created well-oiled machines to respond. But the nation’s largest city and its capital were caught flat-footed. That created an opening for Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona. Nearly 8,000 migrants have arrived on the state-sponsored bus trips, straining the resources and humanitarian services of both cities, which have also sought assistance from the federal government.

Photo: Migrants hold Red Cross blankets after arriving at Union Station near the U.S. Capitol from Texas on buses on April 27, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)