♪ this is mike "nightline." >> tonight, caught in the middle. inside the controversial policy busing migrants away from the border. and into democratic-led cities. the mayor of new york pushing back on the republican governor behind the plan. >> it's hateful politics to raise his national profile. >> are these newcomers to america pawns in a political game of chess? i go one on one with the man at the center of the debate, texas governor greg abbott. why would you use a phrase like "make my day" when addressing the mayor of new york city? >> listen, when -- when you see some of the things going on, that's just candy-coated

language. and money long. muni long, now stepping into her own spotlight. >> muni long, the name and the character that i created was really just the person that i always was. >> how she found her voice. putting in hours and hours to top the charts. plus dad versus alligator. how watching "crocodile hunter" and martial arts training helped him defeat the beast.

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overdraft assist from chase. make more of what's yours. ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin tonight with the nation's immigration crisis. the governor of texas easing the number of migrants coming into his state by sending busloads to new york city and washington, d.c. sid an election year stunt or a possible solution to a long-festering problem? on the streets in new york city, noise and confusion are the norm. for 18-year-old amaro bryan, this scene is a lot to take in. he arrived along with busloads of other asylum seekers sent to the big apple from texas.

the teen started his journey in venezuela by himself. it took him two months to reach the texas border. little did he know he was walking into the middle of a political dogfight over the crisis at the southern border. the push and pull between the white house and the gop. >> the second busful of migrant families has arrived in new york city from texas. >> i've got one thing to tell you and to tell them, there are more buses on the way. >> this is horrific when you think about what the governor is doing. >> reporter: earlier this year, texas republican governor greg abbott started sending busloads of migrants out of the lone star state, dropping them off in cities with democratic mayors. he says the biden administration's policies inadequately secure the border, forcing southern states to bear

the burden of migrant waves. >> texans are fed up with what the biden administration has done on our border, the chaos that it's caused, the damage that it's caused in the state of texas. >> reporter: new york is a sanctuary city, meaning it's more lenient with federal immigration enforcement. nearly daily for the last two weeks, this is the scene playing out at the port authority bus terminal in manhattan. just today, four buses full of migrants arrived from texas, many seeking asylum, all sent here by governor abbott. >> what's increasingly happening in new york city is many of these people are showing up with a notice of an address, not of a legal service provider nor the shelter knows to expect them so you have creating chaos in the system, which is already chaotic from the beginning. >> reporter: they're greeted with the welcoming handshake from the city's immigration office and volunteers.

nonprofit organizations load the place up with clothes, diapers, food, to welcome the migrants who often arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs. >> it's regular people here in new york banding together to make sure that our friends that are coming in are feeling safe and welcome and appreciated. >> reporter: ariana phillips is the founder of south bronx mutual aid. she and a group of volunteers are focused on finding transportation. >> they've had a very long and stressful journey. >> reporter: she helped license nurse joanna alvarez, who also made the journey alone from venezuela to texas. alvarez now has to get on another bus to get to family in upstate new york. taking her in even though she's never met them. bryan is also hoping for a fresh

start. he plans to try the city first. new york city mayor eric adams says abbott is using migrants as "political pawns." >> it's the worst type of politics, it's hateful politics, to raise his national profile. and you know what, you should not be doing it by taking away the respect and dignity of people who are in need. what the texas governor is doing is just so anti-american. >> have you spoken directly to the governor? >> no, i have not. our team reached out to him when we first discovered what he was doing, and we asked, let's coordinate. because crisis calls for coordination. >> reporter: the adams administration says there has been no coordination about what day or time the buses will arrive. >> if the governor of texas was concerned about the conditions of these people, the first thing they would do is inform new york city authorities. look, a bus is coming with so many immigrants, some of them have these medical conditions. >> reporter: mayor adams says nearly 6,000 asylum seekers have

arrived in the city since may. many of them due to be a bot's busing policy. he says the city has opened 13 emergency shelters to meet the demand. how creative will you have to get to accommodate people? because there is a limited amount the space. >> well, we're going to look at our hotels, we're going to look at those spaces that we have outside of the major business districts. we're going to look at places where people are able to have the dignity and respect that they deserve. >> reporter: migrants are also being bussed from texas to washington, d.c. where the mayor has twice asked for help from the national guard. >> we need space, and we need the federal government to be involved. >> reporter: governor abbott, who's running for re-election this november, has traded verbal jabs with mayor adams on cable tv. >> you know, i kind of feel like clint eastwood. "go ahead, mayor, make my day." >> reporter: critics say if he

were looking for help he'd be reaching out to mayors of both parties. >> those buses are passing through other states and other cities. how about speaking to those mayors across those cities and other governors? state, how do we do this together? >> i would say, this is a clearly cynical political ploy. to use migrants in a politically charged campaign and election year. this is a political grandstanding and should be called for what it is. >> reporter: new york has been leaning heavily on volunteer organizations to help pick up the strain on resources. in the south bronx, we met a mother from colombia who was bussed from texas with her four children. the extra 2,000 miles an additional hardship.

she's been here just a few days now. one of the aid organizations immediately stepped in and helped her. after all the travel trauma, she hopes this can be the start to a stable life. a place of education, opportunity, and happiness for her children. what's your message to the governor of texas on "nightline"? you want him to talk, you want him to pick the phone up? >> he should pick the phone up, we should communicate. >> joining us is texas governor greg abbott. governor, thank you so much for joining us. you've heard from the mayor's comments were. whatsy you? will you coordinate with his office to bring these people to new york city? >> well, he said two things. one, it was crisis. the enact of the matter is, i don't know of a larger crisis in our 1 tree right now. this is a crisis caused by the biden administration. remember, two years ago, we had the lowest number of border

crossings in decades. today we have the highest number of illegal crossings into the united states ever. if you show your viewers what is going on on the texas border, they will see it's a crisis. before we began busing illegal immigrants up to new york, it was just texas and arizona that bore the brunt of all of the chaos and all the problems that come with it. now the rest of america is understanding exactly what is going on. mayor began complaining about just getting a small trickle of what texas has to deal with all the time, i sent him a letter and i invited him to come down to the border and see firsthand the chaos that exists in texas. >> now that you have certainly the attention of the mayor of new york, he said he'd like to talk with you, talk with your office, to coordinate transportation moving forward. are you open up to that idea of getting on the phone with him or

your office getting on the phone with his office to coordinate this effort? >> for one, we're always happy to communicate. for another, you need to understand the way the process works. and that is, these buses leave at unexpected times. they depart whenever a bus gets filled. they leave at different times of day, they go different routes. the timing when they awry, we don't exactly know all the time. >> you're the governor of the great state of texas. are politics so divided, tensions, threats of violence so high, why would you use a phrase like "make my day" when addressing the mayor of new york city? >> listen. when you see some of the things going on, that's just candid coded language. when you look at what we're having to deal with, we're dealing with smugglers. we're dealing with cartels. we need the mayor to talk about something more than just politics and sending people down here to knock-on doors and campaign in the state of texas. he has a job to do. he ran for office to be a law

and order mayor. he's failing at that. but also, he's failing at ensuring law and order by ensuring that the immigration laws of the united states of america are going to be enforced. >> some, including the mayor of new york, have accused you of using migrants as political pawns. the mayor said in my interview with him, quote, what the texas governor is doing is anti-american. you have a person who's using those who are seeking refuge as political showmanship. he thinks this is a theatrical performance, and this is not? >> he didn't say to to president biden when president biden was flying people from texas to new york. so he's really nothing more than a hypocrite. he's playing politics with all of this. he's also being a hypocrite because new york city is a self-declared sanctuary city. and so why he's ever complaining for one moment about these people being bussed into a city goes against his own self

declaration of being a sanctuary city. >> i think all reasonable people recognize there are issues at the border between your great state and mexico and arizona as well. what would you like to see the biden administration do? >> so having been a texan my entire life, and having been a public official on the border, i've seen what works and what does not work. there were four policies that were put in place that worked better than anything that's worked in about four decades. and that is, building the border wall. eliminating catch and release. the implementation of title 42 policy. as well as the implementation of the remain in mexico policy. then sending a message that the border is closed. >> governor, we're so grateful for your time. this is a long conversation. i hope you'll come back on the broadcast again so we can continue this conversation. >> thank you so much. up next, from writing the hits to performing her own, how muni long spends hours and hours

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vote yes on 27. ♪ muni long spent decades writing hits for the biggest names in music. now it's her own name and her own voice. once again they tells abc's phil lipof there's no limit to what she can accomplish now. ♪ let me show you how ♪ >> reporter: viral sensation muni long may seem like an overnight success. but this breakout solo artist has already made quite a name for herself after spending 12 years writing chart-topping songs for icons like ariana

grande, mariah carey, rihanna, kelly clarkson cowriting "love so soft." ♪ love so soft ♪ >> reporter: now it's her time. ♪ yours mine ours ♪ >> reporter: she released "ours and ours" in january, quickly viewed by tens of millions on tiktok and other social media. it put her exactly where she wants to be, out front, on top, and singing her own songs. >> i'm a fan of writing about nu nuanced perspectives. different moments and describing how that feels. it's pretty easy when you keep it truthful. >> reporter: her truth turned into hit after hit, cowriting number one songs like -- ♪ it's going down ♪ >> reporter: and -- ♪ baby aim worth it uh-huh i'm worth it ♪ >> one of my favorite lyrics that i've ever written is from "california king bed." >> i love that song. >> thank you. ♪ this felt just like the inside

of a rose ♪ >> i've never kissed a rose, so i don't know, but i assume that it's very soft. >> reporter: beautiful lyrics, but the writing credit on that song and so many others lists priscilla renee, not muni long. >> muni long, the name and the character that i created, was really just the person that i always was and the way that i always saw myself. >> reporter: born in vero beach, florida, priscilla started singing at age 2, wrote her first song at 8. a prolific, gifted songwriter with financial success. and yet the constant feeling of wanting more. >> a lot of times you walk into a many roo, i could have all these accolades and hits, but the artist i'm working for has no clue. rarely do your cowriters actually know who you are. >> that breaks my heart a little bit. >> it's like speed dating. you got four to eight hours to write a hit song. and you're doing this every day.

♪ i could do this for hours ♪ >> reporter: a decade of pitching and selling her songs, chasing her dreams. all while waking up every day in physical pain. quietly battling lupus, an autoimmune disease that can be debilitating, even deadly. >> i had a few scares where i thought, what if i don't make it? dealing with respiratory issues. i thought, if i die, would i be happy with what i have done so far? and at the time i asked myself that, the answer was no. so i decided that i would stop doing things i don't want to do. and just only do what i want to do. no matter what anybody thinks. >> reporter: then this, an empowering encounter with jay-z at a party. he said to you what? >> he just sort of, like, motioned to me to lift my head up, you know. came down to my level. "hi, i'm sean." letting me know that i'm not small. you know.

don't make myself small. >> reporter: a powerful sentiment that would turn into a mantra and eventually transform priscilla into money. ♪ don't wanna grab on no nah ♪ >> it took me a long time to realize that i had a choice about who i wanted to be. >> reporter: confident, taking control of her future, and possibly shaping others. ♪ oh my god can i sing to you ♪ >> a huge part of it for me is representation. you know. when you look at all the little black girls that are singing my songs on tiktok, babies that can't even barely talk. and they're loving my music. i could not do that as priscilla. ♪ and even though you're pretty with an attitude ♪ >> reporter: that brings us a new album of her songs. she sings them all under a record label she built and runs. >> i put a little acting on. >> that's part of creation. >> yeah. i like to keep my lyrics universal. so, like, a lot of times i could

just be talking about the human relationship. >> reporter: songs about love, relationships, life. priscilla's work will always be there, but muni is just getting started. >> i just don't have any limits. like, there's literally no limitations. i'm always like, why not? >> our thanks to phil. up next, dad versus alligator. who came out on top? us collagen. when taken daily, it supports your health, starting with your digestive system. metamucil's plant-based fiber forms a gel to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down, helps lower cholesterol and promotes healthy blood sugar levels. while its collagen peptides help support your joint structures. so, start feeling lighter and more energetic by taking metamucil every day. try metamucil fiber gummies made with a prebiotic, plant-based fiber blend that helps promote digestive health. (cat 1) friskies world! (cat 2) look at that! (cat 1) it's made with real farm-raised chicken!

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♪ finally tonight, the texas father who took on an alligator on his front porch.

mike tran threw a towel over the gator and took his children to school. he wrangled the reptile once he returned home. drawing on his martial arts training and -- >> whoo, this boy. here's a good boy. >> and the late crack dial hunter, steve irwin. >> got a knee on it, spinned it back, grabbed the mouth. once you grab the mouth, that's it. that's done. >> he loaded the animal in his truck, releasing it into a nearby pond. way to go, dad. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see want more from your vitamins? get more with nature's bounty. from the first-ever triple action sleep supplement. to daily digestive support. to more wellness solutions every day. get more with nature's bounty.