I don't know that you can fairly call Texas Governor Abbott a genius, but the term certainly applies to his policy decision to bus thousands of willing illegal immigrants to New York City, Chicago, and other sky blue "sanctuary" cities. It was a genius way to make his problems, their problems too.
The illegal immigrants have no green cards, many speak limited or no English, and are not permitted to find work. The sanctuary cities have to feed and somehow house them, put their kids in school, and provide some sort of minimal health care,.
This takes city tax money otherwise earmarked for things the city actually wants to do. And it is at a time when city sales tax revenues are down as former commuters stay home to work, leaving office space vacant and urban lunch spots and retailers hurting for customers.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Democrat mayors are nagging their Democrat President to do something to help them out. It won't be long before they blame him for the influx. Meanwhile President Biden looks the other way, figurative fingers in his ears, saying "la la la I can't hear you."
This is a scenario worthy of a legendary Republican schemer like Karl Rove, who may in fact have suggested it. It has a Saul Alinsky flavor too. In any event, TX Governor Greg Abbott gets the credit, richly deserved.
----------
The flood of immigrants to our southern border is similarly motivated as the population surges of the various gold rushes of the 1800s. Economic migrants hoping to change their luck and strike it rich, pick up and go where the supposed bonanza is located.
I'd guess that most of this current batch will have no better luck than all but a few of the forty-niners who headed west; they at least enjoyed CA's better weather. A tent in the Chicago or NYC winter won't be fun, especially for migrants from the tropics.
