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When the first busload of migrants from Texas to Los Angeles’ Union Station arrived in mid-June, local immigrant aid groups and agencies were there to meet the families on board and offer food and shelter, connect them with relatives, and even pair them with attorneys.
Now, after a second bus carrying 41 people arrived this past Saturday, the nonprofits are preparing for more drop-offs — and working to make sure they can meet the need.
A broad coalition called the L.A. Welcomes Collective says it began preparing for arrivals last year, after the Republican leaders of Texas and Florida began busing and flying migrants to Democratic-led cities and states as political theater.
“We’ve been preparing because we wanted to make sure that we were ready, and we wanted to make sure that we were able to give these migrants who have gone through so much a warm welcome,” said Martha Arevalo, executive director of coalition member Central American Resource Center. The L.A. Welcomes Collective includes several nonprofits, the L.A. Catholic Archdiocese, and city and county departments.
As the election cycle heats up, Arevalo said, it’s likely these drop-offs will continue, including in Los Angeles.
“And so now, I think that for the next few weeks and the next few months, we hope that we can collaborate more with cities in Texas that seem to be part of the process, or other organizations in Texas,” Arevalo said. “We hope to have that open communication so that we can get as much lead time as possible to make sure that we have what we need to welcome these migrants.”
As with the first bus, the L.A. groups were tipped off ahead of time, as was the city. It’s still not clear who provided the information.
“Though we were not formally notified, the Mayor’s Office became aware of the bus yesterday and mobilized,” according to a statement Saturday from Zach Seidl, a spokesman for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
NGOs in Texas that work with migrants have been involved in the process.
The passengers on board Saturday included asylum seekers from Cuba, Belize, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, according to local groups. There were 11 children among them.
The two buses sent to L.A. in recent weeks are among a string of migrant drop-offs coordinated by Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida that have drawn harsh criticism from immigrant advocates and Democratic leaders.
Since last year, migrants have been bused or flown to places like Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, even left in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve.
In June, about three dozen migrants were flown from the border to Sacramento by the state of Florida via private plane, prompting an investigation by California officials into possible criminal charges. The L.A. City Council has also pushed for an investigation following the drop-off of migrants at Union Station in June.
It’s hard to predict when another bus carrying asylum seekers may come to L.A. But Rina Medina of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles said the many months of preparation that local groups have put into this moment should continue to pay off.
For example, she said, when the second bus arrived, among those there to help were local fire department and public health staff, on hand to respond to passengers’ medical needs — all part of a coordinated effort between the nonprofits and local agencies.
“We have a really solid system that we will continue to utilize, should we receive more buses, should they come in more frequency,” Medina said. “We’ve just at every turn, where we needed … a resource, whether it be food or water or blankets, there’s somebody to say, ‘I can chip in and I can do that, and I can take that on.’”