PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A bus of migrants sent from Texas arrived in Philadelphia Monday morning, the second in less than a week.
To prepare for their arrival, officials with the city Office of Emergency Management were stationed outside 30th Street Station as early as 5 a.m.
The city anticipated the bus, which had more than 45 people on it, to arrive around 6 a.m., but it didn't get to Philadelphia until 9:45.
City leaders, community groups and volunteers once again stepped up to talk to the families and individuals who had been on a bus for hours and hours. They were met with water, food and warm clothing.
“They were surprised across the board,” said Fernando Torres with the nonprofit Casa de Venezuela. “They were shocked at how nice people were, like, ‘We did not expect Philadelphia to be that welcoming.’
“Made me proud to be an American. Made me proud to be a Philadelphian today. To be able to welcome these people, which will add value to our city, this great country.”
A SEPTA bus took some of them to the city’s welcome center facility in North Philadelphia. Others had family members or friends pick them up.
It’s not clear yet how many will be staying in Philadelphia.
Related
Officials said there was only one child, a 3-year-old girl from Ecuador, who was with her parents. They were also picked up by relatives.
One man on board was suffering from a broken leg. He did not need immediate emergency care but the city is making sure he is OK.
City spokesperson Kevin Lessard said in a statement, “Texas officials have not coordinated with the City, despite a direct request from Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management to do so. We do not yet have any specific information about those on board, nor do we know if other buses are planned.”
The first bus transported 28 people from Del Rio, Texas to Philadelphia last week. The city said most of those on board were from Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. They were screened by Customs and Border Patrol agents first.
Two families who were on the first bus — five people in all — said they plan on staying in Philadelphia. The city said the rest would go to nearby states.
There were several children aboard the first bus, and one of them was taken to the hospital because of dehydration and a fever.
Related
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent several buses full of migrants to places like New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago before Philadelphia in a protest of the Biden administration’s border policies.
Mayor Jim Kenney and other city officials have welcomed the migrants and criticized Abbott’s handling of the situation, referring to the buses as publicity stunts.