Local Groups Appeal For Help As More Migrant Buses Arrive From Texas

On Thursday, Los Angeles received its sixth busload of asylum seekers sent here from Texas since mid-June.

Twenty-six people from Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras and Peru arrived at Union Station in downtown L.A., more than one-third of them children and teens 17 and under.

The continuing arrival of the buses is part of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s strategy to send newly arrived migrants to Democratic-led states.

Local immigrant advocates say that as the pace of buses arriving from Texas has picked up, so has the need for resources to assist the new arrivals.

“In many instances, they've just arrived. They have very little with them and sometimes just literally the clothes on their back,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

CHIRLA is one of a few local nonprofits in what is called the L.A. Welcomes Collective that is working alongside city, county and Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials to welcome those arriving.

Salas said although most people who’ve arrived on the buses to L.A. so far have had local family ties, some have not, and they’ll need temporary shelter, a means to get to their destination, and other support. With more buses expected to arrive, she said, help is welcome.

“And so we are seeking additional cash support to pay for a respite shelter, that means hotel stays,” Salas said. Donations of money for bus tickets or air miles to help get people to their final destination is also welcome, she said.

Donations of items like “basic hygiene products, a toothbrush, toothpaste,” or a change of clothing are also welcome, Salas said, along with items such as bottles of water.

Salas said it’s likely the number of asylum seekers arriving will increase, now that a federal judge has blocked restrictions put in place by the Biden administration. The administration is expected to appeal.

Other groups in the welcome collective have put out a similar call for aid to assist the newcomers.

“We just have to be able to respond to families with food,” said Alexandra Morales, a policy and advocacy director at the Central American Resource Center. Noting that some are arriving with children as young as 5 months, she said, “This is an unprecedented time that we're in.”

With the bus arrivals expected to continue, city officials are also looking at how they’ll continue to assist the migrants, whether they’re staying in L.A. or moving on.

“We do not have infinite resources,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. “The city will continue to work with our county, nonprofit and faith partners in the case that Texas continues to send buses.”