A flurry of buses dropped off dozens of migrants at the Washington, D.C., residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on a frigid Christmas Eve.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republicans leading southern states have arranged the transport of thousands of migrants to liberal enclaves such as Chicago, New York City, Martha’s Vineyard, and Washington, D.C., in recent months to draw attention to the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.

With the temperature dipping into the teens, buses with approximately 50 migrants were expected to arrive late Saturday in front of the U.S. Naval Observatory, a source told CNN. A reporter with 7News, a local ABC affiliate, caught what he said was the third and final bus of the night, noting it came from Texas.

#HappeningNow the second bus of migrants has arrived here in D.C. near VP Kamala Harris’ home. They are boarding another bus taking them to a church. Was just told by someone helping bring them to the church that this bus came from Texas: pic.twitter.com/Sp4upqz1yB

— Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) December 25, 2022

Video posted to social media by the reporter, Christian Flores, showed what he said were migrants picking up their belongings and boarding another bus destined for a local church. They included women and children.

The third and final bus of migrants of the night of migrants buses up to D.C. from Texas arriving, with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network taking them to a church: pic.twitter.com/Y65B8RnilZ

— Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) December 25, 2022

CNN’s Noah Gray cited Amy Fischer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid saying the asylum-seekers were originally headed for New York but “shifted to DC because of the weather.”

Amy Fischer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network tells me the 3 busses of asylum seekers were sent by Texas @GovAbbott & originally headed for NY but “shifted to DC because of the weather,” busses picking up were from DC govt- the migrants were bussed to a DC church. https://t.co/j1y9PtSEy0

— Noah Gray (@NoahGrayCNN) December 25, 2022

He reported the migrants were being bused locally by the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network.

These migrants arrived in D.C. as the Supreme Court decides the fate of Title 42, a controversial Trump-era public health order that allows U.S. border agents to turn away migrants, including those seeking asylum, on an expedited basis. A group of Republican-led states, including Texas, are fighting the Biden administration in court to keep the emergency powers alive, warning of the potential for more chaos at the border.

U.S. authorities reported more than 2 million migrant encounters at the border in fiscal year 2022, a marked increase from the prior year. When that figure was reported in October, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said “failing regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua” were driving a new wave of migrants across the western hemisphere.

In announcing buses traveling to outside of Harris’ home in the Naval Observatory in September, Abbott noted the vice president was President Joe Biden’s pick to lead his administration’s efforts to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border — a job which critics say she has failed to take seriously.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues ignoring and denying the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for almost two years,” Abbott said in a statement at the time. “Our supposed Border Czar, Vice President Kamala Harris, has yet to even visit the border to see firsthand the impact of the open border policies she has helped implement, even going so far as to claim the border is ‘secure.’ Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C. until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border.”

In October, Harris took a swipe at Abbott, saying his actions were “an absolute dereliction of duty” during an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

“If you see a problem and we agree that we need to address it, then if you’re a leader, participate in a solution, right?” Harris added. “They’ve fled great harm and they are coming here seeking refuge. Talk about political theater.”

American service members have often spent their holidays away from loved ones — and in harm’s way — and the men who found themselves in the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne just before Christmas of 1944 were no exception.

Bastogne, which sits just a few miles from the border of Luxembourg, had been under German control since May of 1940 and had only been liberated by Allied troops a few months earlier in September — and much of the 101st Airborne Division remained in and around the city.

Other divisions were scattered throughout the surrounding area, many composed of replacement troops who had only recently arrived in Europe: among them were elements of the 106th Infantry “The Golden Lions,” the 9th Armored “Phantom” Division, and the 28th Infantry “The Bloody Bucket.” Some were still waiting for supply drops, ammunition, and even winter uniforms.

The surprise attack began on December 16th when German Panzer divisions pushed back towards Bastogne, catching the mostly-green American troops in the frozen Ardennes Forest off guard and breaking through roadblock after roadblock. Some put up a good fight, but many were driven back into Bastogne and forced to regroup.

On December 17th, just outside of a nearby town called Malmedy, a Hitler Youth graduate turned Waffen SS (Schutzstaffel) General Joachim Peiper and his men captured over 100 American soldiers, all part of Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. After a brief skirmish, the Americans who were unable to escape into the woods surrendered — and after taking their personal possessions from them, Peiper’s men lined the unarmed Americans up in eight rows in a nearby field and opened fire. The few who survived by pretending to be dead recalled hearing laughter as the SS soldiers fired.

Massacre of American soldiers near Malmedy, 1944, Belgium, Second World War war, National archives, Washington, . (Photo by: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

By December 20th, the city of Bastogne itself was under siege, entirely surrounded and vastly outnumbered by the enemy — and word of Peiper and the massacre at Malmedy had gotten to soldiers and civilians alike. Snowy and frigid weather conditions made supply drops all but impossible, and even on the ground, visibility was limited.

Bastogne had also been inundated by “stragglers” — soldiers who had been assigned to units that had been overrun as the Germans had moved to encircle the city — and so Team SNAFU (Situation Normal, All Fouled Up) was born. Men from tank battalions, men from artillery groups, cooks, barbers, it no longer mattered: if they could carry a weapon and stand a post, they were temporarily reassigned to SNAFU and used as much-needed replacements to aid the 101st Airborne.

Two days into the siege, on December 22nd, a German contingent approached waving a white flag — and delivered an ultimatum to Major Alvin Jones, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment.

“The fortune of war is changing. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne,” the letter read. Demanding surrender — within two hours — the German commander threatened to destroy the city if the Americans did not comply. He also promised that the Americans would be blamed for any resulting civilian casualties.

“The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hour’s term,” the German commander wrote. “All the serious civilian losses caused by this Artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.”

“They want us to surrender,” Jones told Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe.

McAuliffe, who was acutely aware of the situation, laughed in the face of certain doom: “Aw nuts!”

He went to write a return memo, but told his staff, “I don’t know what to tell them.”

Lt. Colonel Kinnard commented, “Well, sir, that first remark of yours would be hard to beat.”

And so McAuliffe’s reply read simply:

To the German Commander:

Nuts!

The American Commander

Colonel Joseph H. Harper, commander of 327th Glider Infantry, delivered the note to the Germans — reportedly delighting in the chance to explain to them what it meant: “If you don’t understand what ‘nuts’ means, in plain English, it is the same as, ‘Go to Hell.’”

McAuliffe followed that note with an equally blustery Christmas Eve letter to his troops, detailing both the German commander’s demands and his response.

75 years ago this Christmas Eve, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe wrote this letter to his troops during the Battle of the Bulge. Today we remember the service members who served during the holidays both then and now and wish you a Merry Christmas! #NoVeteranEverDies pic.twitter.com/VuYyhYqqVj

— National Cemeteries (@VANatCemeteries) December 24, 2019

“What’s Merry about all this, you ask? We’re fighting — it’s cold, we aren’t home,” McAuliffe’s letter read. “All true but what has the proud Eagle Division accomplished with its worthy comrades the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion and all the rest? Just this: We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the North, East, South and West.”

“We have identifications from four German Panzer Divisions, two German Infantry Divisions and one German Parachute Division,” McAuliffe continued. “These units, spearheading the last desperate German lunge, were headed straight west for key points when the Eagle Division was hurriedly ordered to stem the advance. How effectively this was done will be written in history; not alone in our Division’s glorious history but in World history. The Germans actually did surround us, their radios blared our doom.”

McAuliffe, after sharing his flippant response to the German demand for surrender, concluded with these words: “Allied Troops are counterattacking in force. We continue to hold Bastogne. By holding Bastogne we assure the success of the Allied Armies. We know that our Division Commander, General Taylor, will say: ‘Well Done!’ We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas.”

The Germans did deliver the promised barrage of artillery and bombs, bringing assault after assault over four days beginning on the 22nd — but on December 26th, a late Christmas gift finally arrived: General George S. Patton and his Third Army severed the German lines completely, breaking the siege of Bastogne.

American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 – 1945) (center left) talks with Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe (1898 – 1975), Bastogne, France, December 28, 1944. PhotoQuest/Getty Images