NEW YORK -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was in New York City for a Republican gala on Thursday, facing criticism over the busing of migrants to sanctuary cities.

The latest numbers released by Texas officials in March show the state has now transported more than 105,000 migrants since 2022, and the topic was front-and-center at Thursday's event.

"When we began the bussing operation, it was going to one location. It was there on purpose because, remember, up to this time, neither Joe Biden nor the border czar had actually been to the border to see the chaos they had caused," Abbott said.

Abbott, whose name has been floated as a possible vice president pick in the upcoming presidential election, wasted no time talking about the influx of migrants entering the country.

"We were sending them only to Washington, D.C., and quite literally out of nowhere, Mayor Adams starts criticizing me for sending them to New York City," Abbott said. "So after a while, I figured, gosh, if I'm gonna get the criticism, I'm gonna get the credit."

According to Texas state data, officials have transported over 105,000 migrants to sanctuary cities since August 2022, including 39,000 migrants who were bussed to New York; that's over 20% of how many migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring.

"I'm going to offer him a stay in one of the [Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers], so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown," Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

The mayor has publicly blamed Abbott for pawning off the migrant crisis to other cities.

Outside the Hilton Hotel where the fundraiser was held, dozens protested.

"We are protesting the entire GOP," said Luba Cortes, with Make the Road NY. "Communities are gonna stand together to continue to say that immigrants are not political pawns."

According to city officials, Abbott's team has not responded to any calls from the Adams administration since sending migrants here to New York City.

In:
• Greg Abbott
• Texas
• Migrants